Mobile network security provider AdaptiveMobile is reporting continued spam being sent from North American iCloud users´ accounts, resulting in these accounts being used to send hundreds of thousands of spam SMS messages to China, the company said.
The company is also reporting a broadening of attacks, with the initial messages offering counterfeit luxury goods now expanding to promote gambling sites.
AdaptiveMobile issued data showing that the number of affected iPhones has risen to more than 11,500 phone numbers since measuring began; these affected iPhones have sent more than 750,000 SMS messages in the last four months.
Due to Apple´s “Send as SMS” feature, if the spam recipient in China is not available to receive an iMessage, then the iPhone sender will automatically send the iMessage as SMS instead. Victims run the risk of incurring charges to their accounts for all the SMS spam their accounts send to China without their knowledge.
AdaptiveMobile encourages any iCloud user who thinks they may have been affected to check their accounts by first logging in and unlinking any unrecognized devices, followed by password change and two-step verification.
AdaptiveMobile provides advanced threat detection and actionable intelligence, combined with the most comprehensive security products available on the market today. It was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with offices in North America, Europe, South Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific.
