Many iPhone apps are stuffed with spyware

Many iPhone apps are stuffed with spyware. That's the worrying conclusion from Troy Hunt's recent analysis of network traffic generated by popular iOS apps. Enterprises using iPhones and iPads need to be concerned about the possibilities of data leakage and regulatory non-compliance, as I'll argue in The Long View...

Australian software architect Troy Hunt (pictured) is the latest blogger to point out that apparently-legitimate iOS apps are spying on us. Of course, these are apps that are downloaded from Apple's supposedly-secure and carefully-curated App Store. They're sending back detailed information about actions in applications, including the unique device ID and often the location.

If you're an IT person in an organization that uses iOS devices, or allows people to bring their own devices (BYOD), how do you feel about apps that share this kind of detailed information? Data such as device ID and location, when combined with app-specific logs can be extremely sensitive. Especially when it seems like the information from several apps can be aggregated!