Advanced persistent threat (APT) groups are hitting Apple devices with malware that has been reverse engineered and redeployed for malicious acts. This technique is complicating attribution efforts, Patrick Wardle, security researcher with Jamf, said this week during RSA Conference 2020.
“I looked at how hackers or adversaries could take existing malware that someone else has spent a lot of time and energy creating and then generally in a few simple steps repurpose or recycle, reconfigure to use for their own surreptitious purposes,” he said. The tactic poses challenges around traditional signature-based detection.
Despite these threats, Wardle said that when it comes to security, Apple’s moving in a “positive” direction, adding more malware mitigation or security features into their operating system.
Discussion Questions:
- Identify three key takeaways from the article. What did you find most interesting?
- Discuss some of the potential impacts of malware on a Mac device.
- What can you do to help prevent against malware attacks?
Source: Lindsey O’Donnell, “Patrick Wardle: Apple Devices Hit With Recycled macOS Malware”, www.nytimes.com, February 28, 2020.
Connect Master Computer Concepts 