Over the weekend some interesting news started appearing about iTunes accounts being hacked. One of the hackers is believed to be associated with Thuat Ngyun who might be the hacker, or associated with the group. Either way, the apps published accounted for at least 42 out of 50 in the Books category charts which is odd considering none of the books had any reviews at all with the exception of the odd rating here and there.
Right now the books are not in the app store any more, so it appears that Apple [AAPL] have responded although Engadget are still waiting for a response when they reached out a couple of days ago.
The main problem is not so much the books being raised in popularity, but the facts of how they got there. The books sold cost money and the money was spent by hackers breaking in to iTunes accounts leaving some users with over $100 of sales in their iTunes account.
It isn’t clear how the hackers got in. Perhaps it was weak passwords or weak security. Either way, we hopefully will find out soon. For now it is recommended that you check your emails for all iTunes purchases you have made to make sure they are all legit. Also change your password and give your computer a sweep with a malware/virus scanner to check all is clean on your side. Gaj-It also recommends you remove CC details and perhaps just use gift cards to purchase apps.
Haha Apple! Looking good these days.