2 percent of top 1,000 App Store apps are malicious: Report

*Apple maintains that it puts apps through a strict review process, yet some apps claim to be from well-known companies while others have included Virtual Private Networks attempting to trick users into paying for virus protection

Alexander Davis | ConsumerConnect

In connection with the need for safety and trust for consumers to download software on the platform, a report has disclosed that two percent of the 1,000 highest-grossing apps on Apple’s App Store were some form of scam

Collectively, the bad apps may have cost consumers around $48 million, Washington Post report said.

Some of the apps claim to be from well-known companies like Samsung, while others included Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that attempted to trick users into paying for virus protection.

Report added that other apps used fake reviews in order to ascend to a higher position within the App Store.

Tim Cook, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Apple was quoted to have said recently that there is a strict review process before apps are allowed onto the App Store.

Without that process, he said the company’s app marketplace would be a “toxic mess.” However, the publication’s investigation revealed that some malicious apps are still slipping through the cracks.

In a statement to the Post, Apple spokesperson Fred Sainz said Apple is continuing to take action against bad apps, saying, the company holds developers held to ‘high standards’

Sainz said: “We hold developers to high standards to keep the App Store a safe and trusted place for customers to download software, and we will always take action against apps that pose harm to users.

“Apple leads the industry with practices that put the safety of our customers first, and we’ll continue learning, evolving our practices and investing the necessary resources to make sure customers are presented with the very best experience.”

It was also gathered that Apple apparently pulled 12 of the 18 apps after the investigation discovered that they were malicious.

But the report ultimately proves that some apps are still making it past Apple’s review process.