Hidden Mac malware designed to spy on ‘everyday people’

A unique Mac malware family that allows for a hacker to remotely spy on a targeted computer and install additional malicious software has been infecting U.S.-based machines for more than five years, according to Patrick Wardle, director of research with vulnerability testing firm Synack. The actor responsible for the malware, dubbed FruitFly, is believed to be an individual hacker who has over the years continuously updated and improved a distinctive suite of hacking tools tailored for breaking into Apple computers. Based on a forensic analysis of the malware, it’s likely that the hacker is not financially motivated or connected to a foreign intelligence service, said Wardle, a former NSA staffer. “This looks like a single attacker. And based on the malware’s capabilities, it seems like they did some pretty pervasive and intrusive stuff,” Wardle said. “The way the malware works it’s just not very scalable, this isn’t how an APT […]

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Patrick Wardle on MacRansom Ransomware-as-a-Service

Patrick Wardle of Synack and the Objective-See blog talks to Mike Mimoso about the emergence of a ransomware service targeting MacOS machines. Wardle explains why he characterizes MacRansom as “lame” and whether this could kick off a wave of copycats vying for the Apple platform. Continue reading Patrick Wardle on MacRansom Ransomware-as-a-Service

Free Mac-Based Ransomware-as-a-Service MacRansom Surfaces

A new, free macOS-based ransomware as a service has surfaced on the darkweb. Researchers say once the malware encrypts users’ files, they’re “pretty much gone for good.” Continue reading Free Mac-Based Ransomware-as-a-Service MacRansom Surfaces

New MacOS Malware, Signed With Legit Apple ID, Found Spying On HTTPS Traffic

Many people believe that they are much less likely to be bothered by malware if they use a Mac computer, but is it really true? Unfortunately, No.

According to the McAfee Labs, malware attacks on Apple’s Mac computers were up 744% in 2016, and its res… Continue reading New MacOS Malware, Signed With Legit Apple ID, Found Spying On HTTPS Traffic

WikiLeaks publishes MacBook, iPhone hacking toolkit supposedly used by CIA

WikiLeaks published Thursday a new batch of supposed CIA documents that reveal how the spy agency has hacked into Apple computers and smartphones over the last decade. The 12 newly released folders provide insight into some of the CIA’s methods and techniques, which evidently require physical access to compromise a target device in many cases. Cybersecurity researchers tell CyberScoop that the documents, some of which are marked as recent as 2013, generally prove that the CIA boasts a “robust” Mac attack toolkit. The spy agency was “ahead of the curve versus public disclosure” for many of these capabilities, said Apple security researcher Pedro Vilaça. A WikiLeaks press releases reads, “these documents explain the techniques used by CIA to gain ‘persistence’ on Apple Mac devices, including Macs and iPhones and demonstrate their use of EFI/UEFI and firmware malware.” UEFI stands for Unified EFI Specification, which defines an interface between the operating […]

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Watch Out! First-Ever Word Macro Malware for Apple Mac OS Discovered in the Wild

After targeting Windows-based computers over the past few years, hackers are now shifting their interest to Macs as well.

The emergence of the first macro-based Word document attack against Apple’s macOS platform is the latest example to prove this.

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