However, this malware is triggered by clicks, rather than an initiation of an install. This new version of install hijacking behaves in a similar way, in that it too relies on a piece of malware. These clicks can be generated through malware located on another app on the user’s device, which is triggered once a new app install is identified. The closer the click will be to the original ad click, the harder it is to distinguish between them and detect it as fraud. This is often carried out by using fake clicks that are artificially injected into the user journey, with the purpose of tricking last-click attribution models into its associated last-click report to the fraudulent source. Install hijacking is a form of fraud in which a media source steals credit for an app install from another media source. The state of mobile ad fraud – 2020 editionĭownload The evolution of install hijacking While harvesting user-data for other purposes, the case presented is believed to have been mainly focused on generating revenue by way of mobile attribution fraud, applying an evolved form of install hijacking. The potential applications of such a security loophole would mean that similar methods for harvesting sensitive user-data are most likely already in use across other apps for reasons that go beyond attribution fraud. The code itself was placed on various iOS apps as a standard ad network SDK with the intention of harvesting information from ad clicks generated by users. This type of sophisticated masking created a code sequence which is extremely difficult to detect, and likely the reason why Apple missed it during their meticulous inspections. The code was deliberately designed to turn-off once it identified that it was running in a simulated environment, if there was a debugger attached, if the phone was rooted, or if a VPN was enabled. The specific case mentioned above detected a piece of code that was masked when running through Apple’s review. The case discovered by Snyk was seemingly carried out to perform a sophisticated type of mobile attribution fraud however, the way this scheme came to play was a real cause for concern. This gives the SDK access to a significant amount of data including private user information, cookies and authentication tokens, and works to steal potential revenue from other ad networks the application may be using.” “Our research team discovered that a popular iOS Advertising SDK, used by over 1,200 apps in the AppStore, with more than 300 Million downloads combined - injects code into standard iOS functions within the application and is capable of intercepting all HTTP requests made by the app. New research by Snyk, the open source security company, revealed a method where app developers can “hide” a piece of their code from Apple’s strict inspections. When it comes to mobile attribution fraud, it has been always been assumed that known fraud attacks, which rely on malicious SDKs and code on the user’s device, were considered irrelevant for iOS devices thanks to this strict vetting process. The term “walled garden” has justified its name. Any developer looking to submit their app to the store must go through a strict vetting process which is designed to protect users from code that puts user privacy at risk such as malicious adware or any other type of harmful content that could taint Apple’s clean image. Apple’s App Store has long been regarded as the safest environment for users to install apps.
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