New malware attacking Chinese Apple devices blocked

Apple said in its latest statement that the company has identified and blocked a new kind of malware that may infect thousands of Apple products, especially in China.

Cyber security company Palo Alto Networks was reported to have discovered a new form of malware which steals a variety of information from mobile devices.

The malware "WireLurker" was monitored to install malicious apps onto the devices when they were connected with an infected computer. The company said that the malware allows an attacker to collect "significant amounts of information from a large number of Chinese iOS and Mac OS systems."

However, the purpose of the attack is not yet clear.

The malware is "unlike anything we've ever seen" in terms of malware that hits Apple's iOS and OS X systems, said Ryan Olson, a Palo Alto Networks intelligence director in a local news report.

"We are aware of malicious software available from a download site aimed at users in China, and we've blocked the identified apps to prevent them from launching," Apple replied to the reporter. "As always, we recommend that users download and install software from trusted sources."

It's also reported that the malware originated from a Chinese third-party apps store and is likely to have mainly affected users within the country.