It is not approved by Apple.

Palo Alto Networks said in a blog post this week that the malware, named KeyRaider, may have affected users from 18 countries including the U.S., China, France, Japan, Canada and Australia. For example jail-breakers can download YouTube videos to their phones or turn their device into a mobile hot spot.

One of the things that this malware does is to remotely deny iPad and iPhone owners access to their own devices, and the pro cybercriminals will then demand payment from the owners in order to give that access back to them, 9to5mac explained.

A jailbroken iPhone is when hardware restrictions are removed on iOS.

Almost a quarter of a million Apple accounts have been compromised. Criminals aimed to use the information to download applications from the official App Store and make in-app purchases without actually paying.

The malicious code steals Apple account information by intercepting iTunes traffic and App Store purchase data.

Have you or has anyone you know been affected by smartphone malware like KeyRaider?

If you’re now jailbroken and want to prevent yourself from installing this KeyRaider malware, as well any future malware, it’s always a good idea to only trust reputable jailbreak developers and repositories like BigBoss and ModMyi, both of which are default repositories in Cydia that are home to a ton of great jailbreak tweaks that don’t contain malware. The company is giving away copies of the software for free and 20,000 people have already downloaded it. If you believe you may have downloaded the suspicious software, Palo Alto Networks laid out a list of what to do next. That opens the door for hackers to steal personal information, damage the device, attack your network or introduce malware, spyware or viruses.

This hack is made potential by, which is usually present in Chinese language web sites and apps that present downloadable software program for jailbroken iPhones. If your phone is jailbroken, now is probably the time to change your password, as the details of your account may be readily available to thieves online.

“Users … need to consider carefully if the additional functionality is worth the additional risk.”