Davey Winder
Thursday, 24 July 2008 20:26
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Mac malware vulnerabilities have become more criminally minded, Mac malware is not just proof of concept, Mac malware will shake Mac users of impenetrable computing misconceptions and Mac malware feeds off Mac users who do not learn from their mistakes. Hard hitting comments that warn of an impending wave of Mac attacks, but does reality match the hyperbole?
For the longest time, security researchers and security vendors, often
the former working for the latter, have been warning that the Mac is
about to become the next big target for those who would do your data
harm. This is not altogether hard to understand when you consider the
sheer volume of Apple kit
that is being shifted right now.
With 2,496,000 Macs shipped, along with
11,011,000 iPods and 717,000 iPhones - and that is just in the last
quarter - the criminals that steal data, identities and computing
resources would be daft to ignore the Mac market. One thing, it has to
be said, that computer criminals are most certainly not is daft.
A report in
The Times
suggests that daft users, specifically those making the transition from
Windows-based computers, are helping to drive what it refers to as an
"upsurge in malware written specifically for Apple users."
Which sounds like a worrying trend and one that should shake Mac users
to their boots. Especially when coupled to the revelation from
Sophos that two new Mac malware Trojans have emerged
recently.
The most troublesome of the two being OSX/Hovdy-A which exploits a Mac
OS Remote Desktop Agent flaw to disable system logging, disable system
updates, disable security software, open firewall ports, install a
keylogger and attempt to obtain root access amongst other things.
Or at least it does all these things in the relative safety of the
security research labs, as there are no reports of OSX/Hovdy-A or any
other Mac malware actually being successful out there in the wild, as
security vendors like to refer to the real world we all inhabit.
What does senior security technology consultant Graham Cluley have to
say about the Mac malware threat? Read his views on the next page...
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