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Apple Releases Security Updates for OS X

Original release date: December 23, 2014

Apple has released security updates for OS X Mountain Lion, Mavericks, and Yosemite to address multiple vulnerabilities in the Network Time Protocol daemon. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities may allow a remote attacker to take control of a vulnerable system.

US-CERT encourages users and administrators to review Apple Security Update HT6601 and Vulnerability Note VU#852879 for additional information, and apply the necessary updates.

 

Also…

Apple Inc has pushed out its first-ever automated security update to Macintosh computers to help defend against newly identified bugs that security researchers have warned could enable hackers to gain remote control of machines.

The company pushed out the software on Monday to fix critical security vulnerabilities in a component of its OS X operating system called the network time protocol, or NTP, according to Apple spokesman Bill Evans.NTP is used for synchronizing clocks on computer systems.

The bugs were made public in security bulletins on Friday by the Department of Homeland Security and the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute. Carnegie Mellon identified dozens of technology companies, including Apple, whose products might be vulnerable.

Read more here…

 

WireLurker Malware Infects Mac OS X and iOS Devices

An interesting article from eSecurityPlanet.com about a malware that targets the OSX and iOS.

Researchers at Palo Alto Networks recently uncovered a new family of malware called WireLurker, which targets both Mac OS X computers and Apple iOS mobile devices.

After first infecting a Mac OS X computer, the malware is then able to infect an iOS device by “lurking on the wire” while the device is being synced via USB — hence the name WireLurker.

The malware has been found in 467 OS X applications on China’s third-party Maiyadi App Store. Over the past six months, those 467 malicious apps were downloaded more than 356,104 times, so the malware may have already impacted hundreds of thousands of users.

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Mac OS X: A Threat is growing…

As a devoted Mac user since 1994, it scares me every time I hear other Mac users say, “ The Mac is so safe, I don’t worry about viruses or apply any security features”.

Even though to date, there have not been any damaging viruses or attacks successfully applied to the Mac OS X operating system, it is increasingly becoming a target for hackers and malware authors.

Security researchers are discovering serious vulnerabilities in the Mac OS X system. Even though we have not seen specific malware to exploit these vulnerabilities, they do exist in the labs and technical papers as proof of concepts.

According to Symantec, as Apple increases its market share–with new low cost products such as the Mac mini–its user base is likely to come under increasing attack.

So we are lead to believe as the popularity of Apple’s new platform continues to grow, so too will the number of attacks directed at it. If that is the case, then vulnerabilities that allow attackers to carry out information disclosure, authentication bypass, code execution, privilege escalation, and DoS attacks will soon be common headaches for Mac OS X users.

Washington DC based SecurityOrb, LLC stated, “Even though none of these events have yet to occur, it is important for Mac OS X users to start changing their mind-set they are immune to the threats that are common with Microsoft Windows users. The Mac OS X has many built in security features as well as some security configuration recommendations on www.securityorb.com that can prevent malicious activities from taking place on your Mac-based system.”