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Mac users under attack

Staff Writer
By Staff Writer
Johannesburg, 08 Jan 2015
Cyber criminals are taking more interest in the OS X and iOS operating systems, say Kaspersky Lab and B2B International.
Cyber criminals are taking more interest in the OS X and iOS operating systems, say Kaspersky Lab and B2B International.

Research shows the increasing popularity of Apple devices in recent years has led to cyber criminals taking more and more interest in the OS X and iOS operating systems - putting users' data and privacy under threat.

A joint study by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International found one in four Mac desktop users encountered a malware program in the past year. The study also indicated 21% of these cyber attacks lead to financial losses, including the cost of buying software to restore the system or hiring IT specialists to disinfect the machine.

Wirelurker, a recently-detected Trojan, is a vivid example of malware specifically designed to target Apple users, say the companies. In the six months prior to its detection, it was downloaded more than 356 000 times from an alternative app store, so it could have infected a significant number of computers.

"Wirelurker is unique in that it exploited a hitherto-unknown vulnerability to spread to any Apple iOS devices that were connected to an infected computer. The Trojan could even infect devices that had not been 'jail-broken', opened up to download apps from third-party sources. The net result was that users of OS X, an operating system believed to be safe from malware, inadvertently infected devices running under iOS," say Kaspersky Lab and B2B International.

However, viruses and other types of malware are not the only threats to users of Mac devices, according to the study. "Network attacks and online fraud, for example, do not need to install any malicious software on a victim's device. Phishing is one of these threats. Interestingly, the percentage of OS X users who encountered financial threats is even higher than for users in general."

The study also warns OS X users should remain alert to other cross-platform threats, such as vulnerabilities in the software installed on their devices. "For example, the ShellShock vulnerability, published in September 2014, potentially allows a cyber criminal to execute any code, including malicious code, on a computer.

"However, if cyber criminals discover these security loopholes before anyone else, they have a window of opportunity where they can exploit the vulnerability for malicious ends before the manufacturer of the OS can fix the problem."