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Apple Names John Ternus CEO as Fake Crypto Wallet Apps Raise App Store Security Questions

Apple Names John Ternus CEO as Fake Crypto Wallet Apps Raise App Store Security Questions

Apple said John Ternus will succeed Tim Cook as chief executive on September 1, as Kaspersky reported fraudulent iPhone apps imitating major crypto wallets and raising App Store security concerns.

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Fact Check
The claim is strongly supported by the BBC article "Apple names new chief executive to replace Tim Cook," which explicitly says Apple named John Ternus CEO effective 1 September 2026 and Tim Cook will become executive chairman. The BBCBreaking X post repeats the same facts and links to that article. The unusual_whales X post independently relays the same claim while attributing it to CNBC. In addition, search results identify a matching CNBC article titled "Apple taps John Ternus as CEO to replace Tim Cook, who ... - CNBC" stating Apple said Ternus is succeeding Cook and Cook will become executive chairman on Sept. 1. Although an official Apple source was not retrievable within tool limits, the combination of BBC's reported article, BBC's own social post, and corroborating CNBC discovery makes the claim very likely true.
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Summary

Apple said John Ternus, senior vice president of hardware engineering, will succeed Tim Cook as chief executive officer on September 1, with Cook becoming executive chairman. The leadership transition comes as Apple faces scrutiny over App Store security after Kaspersky Threat Research reported at least 26 apps impersonating crypto brands including MetaMask, Ledger, Trust Wallet, and Coinbase. Kaspersky linked the activity to SparkKitty, a malware campaign it said has been active since late 2025, and said attackers used benign-looking apps, phishing-style webpages, and developer profiles to install compromised wallet software outside the standard App Store path. Earlier this month, musician G. Love said he lost 5.9 Bitcoin, worth about $436,000, after downloading what he believed was a legitimate Ledger app and entering his seed phrase. Apple says it blocked more than $9 billion in potentially fraudulent transactions from 2020 to 2024.

Terms & Concepts
  • Seed phrase: A set of wallet recovery words that can restore access to a crypto wallet. Anyone who obtains it can usually control the associated funds.
  • DeFi: DeFi (blockchain-based financial services) refers to crypto applications that provide services such as trading, lending, or payments through smart contracts instead of traditional intermediaries.
  • Developer profile: On iOS, a developer profile can authorize app installation outside the standard App Store review flow, which can be abused in phishing and malware campaigns.