Many particularly virulent viruses spotted on Mac

According to a new study by Elastic Security Labs, 54.4% of malware in the wild targets machines running Linux today, compared to 39.4% for Windows and6.2% for macOS. But this does not mean that Apple's machines are the most protected, in fact a very dangerous virus aimed at these devices has just been detected on sale for only a thousand dollars (around 900 euros at the current exchange rate). The program is distributed via Telegram, one of the most preferred messaging services for this type of reprehensible activity.

As the seller explains,Atomic macOS Stealer(AMOS) – that’s its nickname – is not only capable of revealing all the data from theTrousseau iCloudbut also to export them on demand. This service, although encrypted as its publisher explains, is integrated by Apple natively on all of its laptop and desktop computers. It is a password manager, which is also synchronized with the rest of the Apple company's devices: iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, etc.

Features that send shivers down your spine

Beyond being able to plunder the Trousseau iCloud of a user, AMOS is also able to obtain the session lock password of the Mac. Therefore, by taking possession of it, a possible hacker would then have the possibility of taking full control of the machine and deactivating most of the local security. There are many other barriers such as that of the Find My network which requires you to enter the access code of your Apple ID to validate certain operations, but this is not always sufficient to try to deal with these dangers, especially at the last minute. minute.

To go further, AMOS can also accesswalletscryptocurrency from users of different browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge,Vivaldior Brave. Many software based on the same rendering engine therefore, but Safari does not seem to be able to be reached with the virus. We can therefore assume that the numerous limitations put in place by Apple, its developer, are bearing fruit here. In any case faced with this particular threat, but not always since the program could still be pinned down fora relatively worrying security flawrecently.

What are the main threats?

Among the risks that Internet users are most likely to encounter,Trojan horsesapparently account for 80.5% of all malwaredetected by Elastic Security Labs. This type of program, which initially appears to be in good faith and can be installed by the user himself without the slightest fear, actually contains a pirate functionality that can be triggered without the user's knowledge. According to a study by the Association of Internet Security Professionals dating from 2014, the number of computers infected by this type of app was 73%:the trend is therefore increasing.

After the Trojan horses and still according to our source of the day, it is apparently the cryptocurrency miners and theransomware(ransomware in the language of Molière) which capture the largest market shares with respectively 11.3% and 3.7% of compromised devices at their mercy. As a reminder, ransomware is software that “takes hostage” users’ personal data and demands to pay a ransom online – often in Bitcoin – to access it again. During sequestration, files are encrypted, so that companies are the first victims of these attacks because they manage their clients' files, which are more sensitive.

Protect yourself well on Mac

The good news is that there are still some best practices to protect yourself as best as possible on Mac. Here are some of them:

• as much as possible, only download applications from theApp Store: Apple has its own verification process, which scans the store for threats and refuses risky customers
• installera good antivirus
• to usea condom for your USB devicesin public places