Apple fixing in-app purchasing hack

Apple has given some developers access to its private APIs in order to plug an in-app purchasing exploit. The Guardian reports the action was required due to a Russian hacker who enabled 8.4 million fake in-app purchases. Over 115 games were affected, including all the big iOS dogs like Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Infinity Blade and Plants vs Zombies HD.

The fix will check whether in-app downloads were valid, while faked purchases will be wiped from the device. However, consumers who used the exploit will need to update their apps to shut themselves out. The hacker who promoted the exploit, Alexey Borodin, is now attempting similar tricks on Apple's Newsstand and OSX. The Guardian goes into greater detail on how Borodin spoofed the system. Apple says the hack will be fixed by iOS 6 this fall.