[macvoiceover] Re: mal ware
- From: Gordon Keen <gordonkeen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:52:11 +0100
Hi
Check out the article below:
Big Mac Attack: Apple Security Bruised after OS X Infections
Apple has long enjoyed the reputation of making a computing platform that
provides security protection that is superior to its peers—in a word,
Microsoft. The emergence of a group of malicious software (malware) programs in
recent months—collectively known as Flashback or Flashfake—that specifically
target Macs and their OS X operating system now has Apple in the unfamiliar
position of being on the defensive.
Written as a Trojan horse program, Flashback has infected hundreds of thousands
of Macs to date, allowing cyber criminals to steal information from those
computers and turn many of them into virtual zombies that can be manipulated to
attack other computers. This is not the first time Apple has had to contend
with a malware outbreak, but it is by far the largest and most public scar
sullying the company's aura of invincibility.
Apple has been able to avoid such security problems in the past for a number of
reasons. For nearly two decades, Microsoft's success has kept it in the
crosshairs of cyber criminals by virtue of Windows's popularity and, at least
early on, the company's inattentiveness to bolstering security as the operating
system grew more complex. Beginning in 2003 Microsoft became infamous for
"Patch Tuesday," a monthly release of security patches (sometimes dozens at a
time) to fix problems in its operating system, along with Internet Explorer and
other software. Apple was a relatively minor player in the PC market,
attracting little attention from cyber criminals who could make more money
exploiting Windows. The same year Microsoft introduced Patch Tuesday, Macs
represented less than 1.5 percent of desktop computers and less than 3.5
percent of laptop computers worldwide.
Macs still represent only a small portion of the overall worldwide computer
market, but their share has risen to roughly 7 percent in recent years and is
expected to grow steadily. In the U.S., Apple last year owned more than 10
percent of the PC market, behind only HP and Dell, according to technology
research firm Gartner. Mac users can expect more incidents like Flashback will
follow.
"In the computer community we've been saying for five, six, seven years that
Mac is not more immune to computer viruses than Windows PCs or even Linux
boxes, " says Nicolas Christin, associate director of Carnegie Mellon
University's Information Networking Institute. "The only reason Macs were not
massively targeted is that they didn't have enough of a market share to make
them interesting for a hacker to devote resources to try to compromise those
machines. Now that they've acquired a fairly sizeable market share, it makes
sense that the bad guys would focus some attention on the Mac platform."
Popularity contest
Market share certainly plays a role, but in subtle ways, agrees Stefan Savage,
a professor of computer science and engineering at the University of
California, San Diego. "Clearly, if a platform is unpopular then there is
really not much interest in focusing on it," he adds. "In this regard, a
platform's security depends on its popularity and the level of effort versus
reward—that is, what is the expected return on effort."
For cyber attackers, the decision to write malware for a particular operating
system is an investment requiring the development of new skills, the
acquisition of new software programs, even the learning of new slang, Savage
says. "It's not something one does lightly," he adds. "Moreover, for malware
there is an established ecosystem around Windows that really helps reinforce
that platform's dominance [as a target], including malware-writing tools,
markets to buy and sell malware, infrastructure to deploy malware and lots of
open-source information on new exploitation techniques. It takes time to build
that kind of community. Market share certainly drives such things, but there is
quite a bit of inertia as well."
Assessments of a computing platform's security can often be subjective, with
the results often depending on a computer user's preference. There are,
however, several areas where operating systems can be judged head to head,
Savage says, adding that OS X has consistently been behind Windows in producing
what have become standard security mechanisms. "And I'm unaware of Apple
putting the level of investment into security that Microsoft has."
Of course, Microsoft's security woes in the past necessitated that the company
invest heavily in security improvements. One of the company's more astute moves
came in 2005 when it began hosting its BlueHat conferences at Microsoft's
headquarters in Redmond, Wash. At BlueHat Microsoft engineers meet face to face
with members of the hacker community to discuss vulnerabilities in Windows.
Page 2 of 2
What is the difference?
OS X suffers from the same security flaws as Windows, and can be exploited just
as maliciously by cyber criminals, says Antti Tikkanen, director of security
response at F-Secure Corp., a Helsinki-based provider of security research and
antivirus software. "From the pure operating system viewpoint, I don't think
there is a big difference between recent versions of Windows—Windows 7, in
particular—and OS X with regard to security," he says.
Given that the amount of effort required to successfully break into a Windows
PC or a Mac is roughly the same, it comes down to economics. Cyber attackers
want to infect as many computers as possible without investing more money to
buy new types of malware—which can cost hundreds or even thousands of
dollars—and without having to acquire new skills required to write malware for
more than one platform, according to Tikkanen. Although malware that targets
Windows PCs has existed on the black market for years, there is no real market
for OS X malware or for tools designed to write OS X malware, he says, adding,
"This is what keeps the scale of attacks against OS X low: the current
attackers need to build their own tools, and this limits the number of bad guys
that will go after you."
Java spills
Apple is making Java software patches as well as a Flashback-removal tool
available on its Web site. Some security vendors have set up Web sites to test
whether a Mac has been infected. Flashback found its way onto Macs by
exploiting a flaw in Java, which translates certain Web applications into code
that can executed by different operating systems, including OS X and Windows.
Apple's patches, however, will work only for Macs running OS X Lion and Mac OS
X 10.6 (Snow Leopard). Still, about 17 percent of Mac users—roughly 10 million
people—are running older versions of OS X not eligible for any security
updates. Those ineligible for a patch have been advised by a number of security
experts to disable Java in their Web browsers, at least until they can update
to Java's latest version.
Apple had known about the Java vulnerability since January, when Oracle Corp.
(which owns the rights to Java after purchasing Java creator Sun Microsystems
in 2009) issued a patch to correct the problem. Apple, however, does not use
Oracle's patches and chose to write its own version, which it did not make
available until April 12. Flashback did much of its damage during those three
months.
Java has proved itself a security liability over the years, in part because
most computer users do not regularly install the security patches required to
keep the bad guys out of their computers, says Marcus Carey, security
researcher for Rapid7, a Boston-based information-technology security services
firm. The situation is worse for Mac users because they generally do not
install antivirus software, which serves as another layer of protection, he
adds.
Flashback's greatest legacy will likely be as a security wake-up call for Mac
users. "The attitude that Mac does not have malware is dated," Tikkanen says.
"So Mac users should follow the same safety precautions as Windows users. My
tip for both Mac and PC users would be to switch off Java if you don't need it,
and remember to update the rest of your software."
hth
G
From Bridgerule in glorious Devon, England.
On 26 Apr 2012, at 16:46, Bryan Duarte wrote:
> The best thing for your Mac is to stay up to date with EVERY update they
> release. If you do this it will greatly help with any risk.
> On Apr 26, 2012, at 8:43 AM, Don wrote:
>
>> Hi all,
>>
>> I have been hearing on tv that a Mac can and does get mal ware. They advise
>> that you run an anti virus and mal ware software. If this is true what do
>> you suggest. According to Apple they say one is not necessary, so whats the
>
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