{"id":69301,"date":"2017-02-15T18:57:41","date_gmt":"2017-02-16T02:57:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/?p=69301"},"modified":"2025-08-19T09:19:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T16:19:49","slug":"ios-vulnerability-endangers-76-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/mobile-security\/ios-vulnerability-endangers-76-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"How One Simple iOS Vulnerability Endangers Over 76 Apps"},"content":{"rendered":"

76 \u2013 that\u2019s how many iOS apps out there that are currently laced with a security vulnerability<\/a>. So, what exactly are these apps vulnerable to, you may ask? To data theft\u2014specifically, silent\u00a0man-in-the-middle attacks\u00a0<\/a>that allow cybercriminals to intercept and steal user data ranging anywhere from valuable healthcare, financial, or personal data.<\/p>\n

So, where does this massive vulnerability come from? Despite Apple\u2019s recent push on developers toward greater app security, a misconfiguration in the back-end of these apps has created a gaping security hole<\/a>. This weakness even causes Apple\u2019s ATS (App Transport Security) mechanism\u2014a security requirement for apps to use a secure network connection over HTTPS\u2014 to interpret insecure connections as valid.<\/p>\n

That means if a cybercriminal exploits any of the weaknesses in these dozens of apps, they can gather sensitive data that is transmitted across a network from that app. That could be anything, from healthcare data sent to your doctor, to credit card information used for your newest purchase\u2014the possibilities are endless.<\/p>\n

And with speculation circulating that hundreds of more iOS apps could be susceptible to this same vulnerability, it\u2019s critical that developers build a layer of security into their apps.<\/p>\n

Tips to Protect Your Apps and Devices From Data Theft<\/h2>\n

Until they do, here are a few tips for protecting your apps and mobile devices from data theft:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n