A group with an average age of 72 years old who caused damage of 2.7 billion yen with a “stealth pirated app” that bypasses App Store regulations is arrested – GIGAZINE

The App Store, which provides apps on Apple devices, does not allow apps that are harmful or contain illegal content.Regulated by examinationI’m doing it. However, “stealth apps” that are able to get past the screening by doing things such as “illegal content is not displayed unless a specific keyword is entered” or “the app changes to be illegal only in specific areas or on certain days of the week” are often a problem. . According to a statement released by the Taiwanese authorities in December 2024, the operators of a “stealth pirated app” were arrested during an ongoing investigation, and the three operators, an elderly group with an average age of 72 years old, were found to have collected $18.5 million. It was revealed that the damage amounted to approximately 2.7 billion yen.

Apple Stealth Piracy App Trio, Combined Age 215 Years, Face $18.5m Damages Claim * TorrentFreak
https://torrentfreak.com/apple-stealth-piracy-app-trio-combined-age-215-years-face-18-5m-damages-claim-241205/

Apps released on the App Store must be released on the App Store.guidelinesmust be followed. For example, in the “safety” section, we reject “inappropriate content” and “app behavior that causes physical harm,” and in the “legal matter” section, we exclude data that is secretly collected. It clearly states that content that violates the intellectual property of others is prohibited.

On the other hand, there are also apps that pretend to be apps that do not violate the guidelines, pass App Store review, and then display prohibited content by performing certain operations. For example, provide Apple related news in July 20249to5MacAccording to a report by It was said that it was designed to turn into a pirated streaming platform that illegally provides content such as Apple TV +. 9to5Mac points out that the app was not discovered during the review process because it does not display any illegal content when downloaded by American users.

How can malicious developers cheat the App Store review process? -GIGAZINE

On December 6, 2024, Taiwanese authorities revealed details of an investigation into a stealth pirated app that passed the App Store review using similar methods. Taiwanese authorities discovered that various online communities and websites offered tutorials and download links for the stealth app, and as a result of their investigation, a Japan-based anti-piracy organization.Content Overseas Distribution Promotion Agency (CODA)We have determined that this includes television content managed by . Subsequently, the address of the person believed to be the operator was searched on September 6, 2024 and October 29, 2024, and illegal video apps and recording media were seized.

Taiwanese authorities said in a statement: “After investigation, we found that this type of illegal app initially masqueraded as a legitimate program unrelated to video content. After installation, the software switches to pirated mode when the user enters certain keywords or commands.The suspect uses well-known privately run websites to publish articles and provide download links. and earned advertising revenue through click-through rates.”

According to Taiwanese authorities, the three main suspects are all male, and are a group of Taiwanese nationals aged 62, 73, and 80, respectively. A site showing tutorials on the stealth pirated app that the app leads to has been viewed more than 550,000 times, and the anonymous copyright holder who filed the complaint estimated the market value of the infringed content at NT$600 million (approximately 2.7 billion yen). We estimate that.