Given that ransomware is so rare on Macs to begin with, this one-two punch is especially noteworthy. The spyware component also lurks persistently as a backdoor on infected devices, meaning it sticks around even after a computer reboots, and could be used as a launchpad for additional, or "second stage," attacks. In addition to ransomware, ThiefQuest has a whole other set of spyware capabilities that allow it to exfiltrate files from an infected computer, search the system for passwords and cryptocurrency wallet data, and run a robust keylogger to grab passwords, credit card numbers, or other financial information as a user types it in.
#Ransomware on mac computers series#
(Researchers originally dubbed it EvilQuest until they discovered the Steam game series of the same name.) It turns out, though, that the malware, which researchers are now calling ThiefQuest, gets more interesting from there.
So when Dinesh Devadoss, a malware researcher at the firm K7 Lab, published findings on Tuesday about a new example of Mac ransomware, that fact alone was significant. It does not store any personal data.The threat of ransomware may seem ubiquitous, but there haven't been too many strains tailored specifically to infect Apple's Mac computers since the first full-fledged Mac ransomware surfaced only four years ago. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. You can also follow me on: Twitter and Linkedin For the last ten years I have worked as an Affiliate and Consultant to many different business and start ups, my key skill set being online marketing, on page monetisation, landing page optimisation and traffic generation, if you would like to hire me or discuss your current project please reach out to me here. As the publishing and printing sector wained I moved into Internet Marketing and in 2006 co-founded which grew to become one the top 200 visited sites in the US (according to Quantcast), at its peak receiving over 15 million visits per month. I've been a passionate evangelist for Apple and the Macintosh throughout my working life, my first love was a Quadra 605 working with a small creative agency in the south of Norfolk UK in the mid 1990's, I later progressed to other roles in other Macintosh dominated industries, first as a Senior graphic designer at a small printing company and then a production manager at Guardian Media Group.
Although market share is still small, hackers know that there is valuable data on the Mac.”Īpple has not offered comment on the latest developments in relation to security issues. Peter Ewane, a researcher at AlienVault, said the spyware was designed to sidestep processes normally used by security programs to expose and eliminate them.įortinet’s Aamir Lakhani said: “Mac ransomware is definitely becoming bigger. The MacSpy spyware, freely downloadable from the same site, can take screenshots, record what is typed and tap into the microphone of the targeted device. The researchers stated: “Even if it is far inferior to most current ransomware targeting Windows, it doesn’t fail to encrypt victim’s files or prevent access to important files, thereby causing real damage.” However, this also meant that decrypting infected files was problematic, actually increasing the risk of lost data.
#Ransomware on mac computers windows#
Upon analysing the structure, they found it didn’t use the highly refined encryption techniques used in similar Windows variants. Fortinet researchers subsequently pretended that they wanted to use the malware scripts and were duly sent examples of the code.
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