However it is the aftermath of this discovery that is having the greatest impact on both Apple’s program and the world of cyber-security.

As a result, following several days of chaos in Facebook and Google HQs when all internal apps were temporarily deactivated, the offending research apps were shut down. Apple issued a statement confirming that by using their membership of the Enterprise Developer Program to distribute data-collecting apps to customers, both Facebook and Google had violated the terms of the program and would have their certificates revoked. Just last month however it was discovered that Facebook, and later Google, were violating the terms of the program by offering customers payment in return for downloading an app and allowing the companies to monitor and collect extensive data related to their phone and web activity. The program permits companies to develop and distribute apps without the need to go through the official App Store channel, as long as usage is restricted to internal employees only. For example many companies use workplace chat or lunchtime menu apps exclusive to employees. So iPhones may not be as safe or impossible to corrupt as Apple want you to believe – but how exactly is this the case? Apple Enterprise Developer ProgramĪpple’s Enterprise Developer Program offers companies the opportunity to create and distribute apps internally to their employees to assist with their work or improve their workplace experience. Just this week it was discovered that app developers have been using the relatively straightforward process of signing up to the enterprise program to circumvent the restrictions of the App Store in order distribute pornography and gambling apps and to offer alternatives to popular legitimate apps such as Spotify and Minecraft.

This has opened up a much wider investigation into Apple’s Enterprise Certificate program and how rigidly its standards and entry requirements are enforced. However, this image has been severely tarnished in recent weeks following the discovery that tech giants Facebook and Google had been using apps authorized by Apple’s Enterprise Certificate program to monitor and collect customer device data. Since the release of the App Store in 2008, Apple have sought to differentiate the iPhone as an impenetrable, safe device available only to apps that have been vigorously reviewed and approved in accordance with the company’s policies and standards.

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