According to New York Times reporter Vindu Goel, Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS: AAPL) has apparently lost a certain measure of control within it's App Store ecosystem, as hundreds of fake retail targeted applications manage to slither past Apple Inc.'s various App Store security system gatekeepers. On the other hand, they did manage to ban one of the most expensive apps within the confines of Apple's retail marketplace...

"We’re seeing a barrage of fake apps,” said Chris Mason, chief executive of Branding Brand, a Pittsburgh company that helps retailers build and maintain apps. He said his company constantly tracks new shopping apps, and this was the first time it had seen so many counterfeit iPhone apps emerge in a short period of time." - via New York Times reporter Vindu Goel