Apple iTunes and iCloud for Windows 0-Day Exploited in Ransomware Attacks

A Vulnerability affecting a known component that comes bundled with Apples iTunes has been used by the Cybercriminal group behind BitPayment and iEcrypt to perform ransomware attacks.

The vulnerable component is the Bonjour updater, a component of Itunes that works silently in the background automated various low-level network states, including downloading of new updates related with Apple software.

Uninstalling the iCloud does not solve the problem, since the Bonjour gets installed as a separate program on the system.

The Bonjour component was found vulnerable to the unquoted service path vulnerability, a common software security flaw that occurs when the path of an executable contains spaces in the filename and is not enclosed in quote tags ("").

The unquoted service path vulnerability can be exploited by planting a malicious executable file to the parent path, tricking legitimate and trusted applications into executing malicious programs to maintain persistence and evade detection.

Apple released iCloud for Windows 10.7, iCloud for Windows 7.14, and iTunes 12.10.1 for Windows to address the vulnerability and it’s highly recommended to update their software to the latest versions.

Source: Panda Security

Ban of iPhone sales in Germany

Qualcomm enforces court order to ban iPhone sales in Germany

Qualcomm has completed the last step in a legal process which means a court order is now in force which bans the sale of select iPhone models in Germany.
Qualcomm posted bonds of 1.34 billion euros to finalise the process as part of a legal requirement to enforce a court order which would likely see Apple withdraw all iPhone models in Germany which infringe on Qualcomm's patent, Reuters reports.
A Munich court ruled on December 20 that Apple had infringed on a Qualcomm patent related to its modems - an envelope tracking patent which is vital in the conservation of battery power while the modem is active.
Following the court ruling, Apple said it would pull iPhone 7 and 8 models from its 15 retail stores in Germany when the order came in to force, which happened after Qualcomm posted the bonds.
According to Qualcomm, the order states that Apple must also recall infringing models from third-party resellers in Germany. Apple has said it will be appealing the decision.

Source & more info: ITPro UK