Sophisticated hackers introduced dormant malware into nearly 30,000 Macs

There is a popular stereotype that Apple computers are largely immune to malware. Not only is this incorrect, but it looks like some sophisticated hackers may have played with the idea of ​​a pretty nasty heist or drop that they needed to cover their tracks. As Ars Technica reports, security researchers from Malwarebytes and Red Canary have uncovered a mysterious piece of malware hidden on nearly 30,000 Macs, designed to deliver as yet unknown payload and with a self-destruct mechanism that could wipe out all traces of its existence . They call it Silver Sparrow.

Red Canary’s own blog post goes into more detail, including how they discovered several versions targeting not only Intel, but also newer Macs based on Apple’s own M1 chip – which is quite the point. thing, considering the way Apple’s new M1 computers are and how few vulnerabilities exist. been discovered yet. Literally just a week ago, Patrick Wardle, Objective-See security researcher, published an article about the first malware found in the wild targeting Apple Silicon, and we now have two.

Fortunately, Silver Sparrow was do not able to cover its tracks before being released, there is no indication that it was used to do damage, and Red Canary writes that Apple has already revoked the binaries (which should theoretically prevent you from accidentally installing it yourself). But the idea that damage could have been done isn’t theoretical: they actually found these strains of Mac malware in the wild.

Researchers warn that Apple’s transition from Intel to its own silicon may also allow other bad actors to easily slip malware through the cracks: you can read quotes from several of them in this article. document. Wired history.