March 28, 2024 at 07:50AM
Canonical is changing its policies due to the appearance of multiple cryptocurrency credential-stealing apps on the Snap store. Temporary measures include manual review of all new snap name registrations. Former Ubuntu staffer Alan “Popey” Pope detailed the scam apps and Canonical founder Mark Shuttleworth addressed the issue. Canonical also extended security updates for Ubuntu 14.04 “Trusty Tahr.”
From the meeting notes, we can deduce that Canonical is making temporary changes to its policies in response to multiple waves of cryptocurrency credential-stealing apps being uploaded to the Snap store. The company will switch to manual review of all new snap name registrations in an effort to combat the problem. The issue has been detailed by former Ubuntu staffer Alan “Popey” Pope, who highlighted specific instances of scammy apps, including a fake “Exodus” wallet app that caused one user to lose nine Bitcoins, worth roughly $490,000. The post also mentioned the appearance of fake wallets from various accounts and the challenges associated with identifying these fraudulent apps due to their appearance as “safe” in the Snap Store.
Furthermore, the meeting notes referenced the extension of Ubuntu 14.04 “Trusty Tahr” LTS release’s security maintenance period to 12 years for Ubuntu Pro customers, offering an additional two years of critical security updates. This would allow Pro customers to benefit from an extended support period for their essential “Trusty” instances.
In summary, the meeting notes covered temporary policy changes in response to cryptocurrency app issues, instances of fraudulent apps, and an extension of the security maintenance period for Ubuntu Pro customers.