Report: Malware for Macs on the Rise
It’s looks like Apple Macintosh systems may not be as impervious to cybersecurity threats as many end users have been led to believe. A report published this week by Malwarebytes Labs, the research arm of the provider of endpoint security software, finds that of the top 25 detections of malware 2019 found using the company’s software, six of them were specific to Macs. Overall, the report finds Mac threats accounted for more than 16% of total malware detections.
Thomas Reed, director of Mac and malware at Malwarebytes, said that while 16% may not seem like a large percentage, cybersecurity professionals should note the user base for Macintoshes is about one-twelfth the size of the Windows user base, so a 16% total for all malware detections indicates that malware on Macintoshes is more pervasive than many might appreciate.
The Malwarebytes report also finds there are more malware detections on Macintosh systems than Windows systems. On average, there were 4.2 detections per Windows system this year, compared to 9.8 detections per Macintosh system.
The report also notes Mac malware for the first time broke into the top five most detected threats in the world, with Mac malware representing the second- and fifth-most detected threats. The Malwarebytes detection ranked second highest of 2019 is a family of adware family known as NewTab, which accounted for 4% of detections across all platforms. NewTab makes use of browser extensions to modify the content of web pages and can be found in the form of Chrome extensions, with some older versions available as outdated Safari extensions. NewTab also manifests itself in applications, such as flight trackers, maps/navigation, email access or tax forms.
In fifth place is PUP.PCVARK, a variety of potentially unwanted programs from a specific developer that manifest themselves as clones of Advanced MacKeeper. It accounts for 3% of total detections and became so pervasive that its originating site was eventually blacklisted by Google Safe Browsing.
Reed said Mac malware issues may be even more prevalent than thought because most Macintosh users still don’t employ endpoint security software in the mistaken belief their systems are secure. The Malwarebytes report is based on systems that run its software. Most of the malware infesting Macintoshes are adware and unwanted programs. Traditional “full” malware does exist for the Macintosh—exploits such as Mokes and Wirenet malware have been able to target Macintosh users this year through a Firefox vulnerability. However, only users at certain cryptocurrency companies were targeted, so infections were not widespread.
Cybersecurity teams would be well-advised to not leave it up to end users to decide whether they should install endpoint security software. The threats facing Macintosh platforms may not be as sophisticated as the ones targeting Windows platforms, However, threats capable of compromising Macintosh systems do exist, and as the number of Macintosh systems in enterprise IT environments continues to increase, so does the probability that cyber attackers will begin to focus more of their efforts on compromising those systems.
