Apple confirmed on Sunday that a tool used by software developers for the company’s devices was copied and modified by hackers to put bad code into apps available on the App Store.

“But Xcode isn’t the only vulnerability worth addressing; Apple will need to detect which malicious iOS devices have already been exposed”, Westin said. Some of the apps affected by the malware include a handful of China’s most popular titles – an older version of WeChat, and Didi Kuadi, the country’s version of Uber, to name two. Some of those apps, while developed in China, have worldwide audiences, including the popular messaging app WeChat and business card scanner CamCard.

It’s hard to say exactly how many apps have been infected. The whole hacking started after some developers in China were tricked into using software tools which contained a malicious code.

Chinese apps are thought to be vulnerable because developers often bypass the official, more secure, Apple channels, which can be slowed by Chinese Internet monitoring.

Apple issued a statement on Monday saying they had identified and taken down several apps that were affected by the Xcode Ghost malware program.

First large-scale attack is reportedly detected on Apple’s iOS App store that has affected many iOS applications.

“They said they were aware of the problem and their engineers were working on it 24/7, but they couldn’t tell me when – or how – I would get a solution”, Zorry said.

The malicious code spread through a counterfeit version of Apple’s Xcode tools used to create apps for its iPhones and iPads, according to the company.

The malicious software collects information from infected devices and uploads it to outside servers, according to Palo Alto Networks, a U.S.-based security firm, which investigated the malware. “The hacker’s server was paralyzed as more and more users were attacked”, Mobile phone security expert Lin Wei said.

But Thomas Reed at the software firm Malwarebytes said it may hurt Apple at a delicate time.

Olson said that even in this case, hackers did not crack Apple’s software.

The British government says it will underwrite 2 billion pounds (USD3.1 billion) in Chinese financing for a new nuclear power plant in southwest England, as it encourages major Chinese investment in Britain’s nuclear sector.