For too long too many people have thought Apple products and software were immune from malware and viruses. But Palo Alto Networks has released a new report that suggests things for Apple users are about to change. Researchers for the company have discovered a bug called Wirelurker, which the company says may have already impacted hundreds of thousands of Apple users.
WireLurker, “marks a new era in malware across Apple’s mobile and desktop platforms,” the company said in a statement.
Palo Alto Networks went on to say that WireLurker is capable of installing third-party applications on non-jailbroken iOS devices and can also attack iOS and OS X via USB. WireLurker, unlike any previous Apple iOS and Mac OS X malware, was found hidden in apps downloaded from third-party Mac OS X app stores in China.
“We believe this malware family heralds a new era in malware attacking Apple’s desktop and mobile platforms,” researcher Claud Xiao wrote in a blog post. “It is only the second known malware family that attacks iOS devices through OS X via USB and it is the first known malware that can infect installed iOS applications similar to a traditional virus,” Xiao said.
Apple’s statement on WireLurker says that it has snuffed out the threat:
“We are aware of malicious software available from a download site aimed at users in China, and we’ve blocked the identified apps to prevent them from launching. As always, we recommend that users download and install software from trusted sources.”
Apple has long had a reputation as a very secure product. Not many viruses or malware could penetrate its security standards. One of the reasons was that Apple did not always enjoy the popularity and market share that it currently holds. So hackers never saw Apple computers as an inviting target. Neither is Apple a major provider of servers and other network equipment. Apple also has a very strict developer standards and rejects many apps that you may find on Android and other platforms. You can see the top ten reasons why Apple rejects many apps here.
Even with this new threat to Apple’s security there are some experts that believe that the danger may not be as bad as many would believe. According to TrendLab’s Security Intelligence Blog “The newly discovered Wirelurker malware affecting both OS X and iOS devices has been covered extensively in the media. While this is a significant incident, some of the coverage appears to have been exaggerated, and might lead users to unnecessary panic.”
The blog makes several points to support its position. First, TrendLabs reports that Wirelurker is not currently an active threat. That all known variations have already been blocked by OS X, and the command-and-control servers have been disabled. TrendLabs believes that this reduces the threat significantly for Apple users.
Second, no new vulnerability in the Apple software was used to spread Wirelurker. The malware arrived on OS X machines via Trojan apps. Creators of the malware have used pirated apps to spread malware for many years. The malicious apps was detected as OSX_WIRELURK.A.
Finally according to the TrendLabs blog; “Wirelurker has not succeeded in installing apps on non-jailbroken devices.”
Many believe that Wirelurker may have been stopped. That has yet to be seen. Computerweekly.com has offered the following steps to help protect your Apple device from the malware.
- Businesses should assure their mobile device traffic is routed through a threat-prevention system.
- Use an antivirus or security protection product for the Mac OS X system and keep it up to date.
- In the OS X System Preferences panel, under Security & Privacy, ensure “Allow apps downloaded from Mac App Store (or Mac App Store and identified developers)” is enabled.
- Do not download and run Mac applications or games from any third-party app store, download site or other untrusted source.
- Keep iOS up to date.
- Do not accept any unknown enterprise-provisioning profile unless explicitly instructed to do so by a trusted party.
- Do not pair your iOS device with untrusted or unknown computers or devices.
- Avoid powering your iOS device through chargers from untrusted or unknown sources.
- Do not jailbreak your iOS device.
Breaking it down
Apple is as popular among black people as it is other groups. Especially the iPhone. So this is where black people need to pay attention. You may want to get used to the fact that Apple products are less vulnerable; not immune, to viruses and malware. The stage is set by this malware for others to come out of the wood work. It was inevitable that this would happen. Apple is a global brand and has a huge following. As a result it attracts attention. Hackers love a challenge so there that big pretty Apple sits. So adjust your habits and become more security conscious with your Apple equipment. Because even though Apple runs a tight ship it can’t keep the barbarians at bay forever.