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Sun, 27 Sep 2009 Researcher: Hackers pay 43 cents per hijacked Mac

Mac OS X’s security has beenroundly criticised by vulnerability researchers

Gregg Keizer Computerworld

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A network of Russian malware writers and spammers paid hackers 43 cents for each Mac machine they infected with bogus video software, a sign that Macs have become attack targets, a security researcher said on Thursday.

In a presentation at the Virus Bulletin 2009 security conference in Geneva, Switzerland, Sophos researcher Dmitry Samosseiko discussed his investigation of the Russian “Partnerka,” a tangled collection of Web affiliates who rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars from spam and malware, most of the former related to phony drug sites, and much of the latter targeting Windows users with fake security software, or "scareware."

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But Samosseiko also said he had uncovered affiliates, which he dubbed “codec-partnerka,” that aim for Macs. “Mac users are not immune to the scareware threat,” said Samosseiko in the research paper he released at the conference to accompany his presentation. "In fact, there are ‘codec-partnerka’ dedicated to the sale and promotion of fake Mac software."

One example, which has since gone offline, was Mac-codec.com, said Samosseiko. "Just a few months ago it was offering [43 cents] for each install and offered various promo materials in the form of Mac OS ‘video players,’"he said.

Another Sophos researcher argued that Samosseiko’s evidence shows Mac users, who often dismiss security as a problem only for people running Microsoft’s Windows, are increasingly at risk on the Web.

“The growing evidence of financially-motivated criminals looking at Apple Macs as well as Windows as a market for their activities, is not good news - especially as so many Mac users currently have no anti-malware protection in place at all,” said Graham Cluley, a senior technology consultant at UK based Sophos, in a blog entry on Thursday.

Mac threats may be rare, but they do pop up from time to time. In June 2008, for example, Mac security vendor Intego warned of an active Trojan horse that exploited a vulnerability in Apple’s Mac OS X. Last January, a different Trojan was found piggybacking on pirated copiesof Apple’s iWork ’09 application suite circulating on file-sharing sites.

Mac OS X’s security has beenroundly criticised by vulnerability researchers, but even the most critical have acknowledged that the Mac’s low market share - it accounted for just 5 per cent of all operating systems running machines that connected to the Internet last month - is probably enough protection from cyber criminals for the moment.

Samosseiko’s paper on Partnerka can be downloaded from Sophos’ site (download PDF).

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Comments received


Jonah said on Sun, 27 Sep 2009

"vulnerability researchers"

I wonder if these work for Sophos? They must be worried, with the OS companies providing more and more security out the box. Their businesses were based on real threats. Now that are more based on FUD.

FAKEJames Donevan said on Sun, 27 Sep 2009

Sophos send out Mac scare stories every few weeks - the last was about Snow Leopard and anti-phsihing measures. Much rather be on a Mac than a PC.

BB said on Sun, 27 Sep 2009

It does come down to the fact that are just not enough machines in circulation to make it worth anyone's time & effort.

Jonah said on Sun, 27 Sep 2009

BB

You talk utter nonsense. Total M$ PR rubbish.

There are more OSX machines in circulation now than there were Win95 machines when ILOVEYOU melissa hit. We all know what that did!

Take your silly M$ guff elsewhere, please.

Baskaran said on Mon, 28 Sep 2009

McAfee, Symantec, Korpersky(?) etc are big time orchestrated SPAMs that M$ itself. Most of these SPAMware costs several hundred dollars (50~100+ subscription rip off) to run and effectively filter away the 'bad' stuff. They now want to grab the MacOS share too. So it is a more of a marketing material than real threat.

@Jonah said on Mon, 28 Sep 2009

Blimey mate, you have got your head up your ar$e. There are more Wii's around than Mac's! Read the story - less than 5% OS market share and it ain't moved in years.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Mac, but you are on a hiding to nothing if you think it will ever get out of the minority status.

BB said on Mon, 28 Sep 2009

@Jonah

Don't swear at me, I'm a Linux user. Just understand hacking and percentages.

@@Jonah said on Mon, 28 Sep 2009

You are unable to tell the difference between market share and absolute numbers. Back to school for you, and while you are there, ask if they can teach you about apostrophes.

@BB. Of course it is worth the time and effort. Every time there's a Mac hack found in a lab it hits the mainstream headlines. Lots of kudos for someone that writes a proper one. Also, is guff a swear word? wow!

@@@Jonah said on Mon, 28 Sep 2009

No - but M$ is. There are just not enough Mac's to bother with. There are more exploits than you know and many more than are made public.

Mac's said on Mon, 28 Sep 2009

Shouldn't that be exploit's?

Mac's said on Mon, 28 Sep 2009

Shouldn't that be exploit's?

oop's said on Mon, 28 Sep 2009

sorry for double post...

@Mac's said on Tue, 29 Sep 2009

No, that would be possessive. What is this, an English class now?

@@Mac's said on Tue, 29 Sep 2009

Why put an apostrophe in Mac's then - that isn't possessive, it is slack English.

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