Researcher sends malicious app into Apple App Store
Sneaking past Apple's App Store proves successful, but the researcher who discovers the flaw is thrown off the iOS developer programme.

A software hole in Apple's iPhone and iPad devices may permit developers to break through the App Store gates and control the device.
Security researcher Charlie Miller discovered the flaw, allowing developers to bypass the code signing restrictions and secretly install malware onto Apple devices.
"The flaw I found allows apps in the App Store to download new code and run it even if it's not signed or even if it hasn't been checked by Apple," Miller said in his YouTube clip below.
"Until now you could just download everything from the App Store and not worry about it being malicious. Now you have no idea what an app might do," said Miller.
Miller demonstrated the flaw by using a stock price checking application he created, InstaStock, which was approved even though it contained features to download unapproved code.
The app's code could let a hacker download an address book, view pictures, access other data and even make the phone vibrate.
Despite attempting to highlight security flaws in Apple's systems, because he had broken Apple's App Store rules, Miller was thrown off the iOS developer programme.
Get the ITPro. daily newsletter
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Focus Report 2025 - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives
"Apple just kicked me out of the iOS Developer program. That's so rude," Miller tweeted on Monday. "First they give researcher's access to developer programs, (although I paid for mine) then they kick them out for doing research. Me angry."
"Just found out not only am I kicked out, I can't come back for a year. 1 year suspension," Miller tweeted today.
Apple has now removed the app from its App Store.

‘If you want to look like a flesh-bound chatbot, then by all means use an AI teleprompter’: Amazon banned candidates from using AI tools during interviews – here’s why you should never use them to secure a job

Businesses must get better at sharing cyber information, urges former GCHQ chief

AI PCs are becoming a no-brainer for IT decision makers