More than a dozen iOS apps infected with clicker Trojan malware and distributed via the Apple App Store were found to perform ad fraud-related tasks in the background, using the command and control servers of a similar Android ad fraud campaign.
The malware module bundled with the 17 iOS apps is designed to communicate with a previously known command and control (C2) server and it simulates ad clicks and opens web pages in the background without the need of user interaction, thus carrying out an ad fraud campaign by abusing all iPhones, iPads, and iPods it compromises.
"The objective of most clicker trojans is to generate revenue for the attacker on a pay-per-click basis by inflating website traffic," researchers at Wandera Threat Labs explain.
"They can also be used to drain the budget of a competitor by artificially inflating the balance owed to the ad network."