Ordinary consumers always have a stereotype that Apple computers are basically immune to malware. This deep-rooted error is very dangerous. The more challenging it is for hackers, the more they want to break it. Foreign security agencies have discovered that nearly 30,000 Mac computers have been infected with mysterious malware, which is currently in a latent state and can erase traces of its existence on its own.
U.S. security company announces that nearly 30,000 Macs worldwide are infected by “Silver Sparrow”
According to foreign media Ars Technica, security research units Red Canary and Malwarebytes discovered a piece of malware designed to add unknown loads to computers. It has a self-destruction mechanism and can erase its own footprints. It is currently named “Silver Sparrow.” exist Red Canary’s official blogIt details how to detect multiple versions of this malware, which not only targets Intel processor models, but even Apple’s latest M1 processor is not immune.
According to data provided by Malwarebytes, as of February 17, Silver Sparrow has infected 29,139 macOS devices in 153 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Germany, which have particularly strict information security inspections. Although this malware has not yet started attacking, its compatibility with M1 chips, global coverage, operational maturity, and relatively high infection rate have to make people alert.
Despite the missing payload, Silver Sparrow’s forward-looking M1 chip compatibility, global reach, relatively high infection rate, and operational maturity suggest Silver Sparrow is a reasonably serious threat.
— Red Canary (@redcanary) February 19, 2021
Thankfully, Silver Sparrow was unable to cover its tracks before being evicted from the computer. Red Canary also wrote that Apple has resolved the binary file, which theoretically prevents you from accidentally installing it yourself, but in fact this idea is too naive, after all, the presence of these malicious software has been found on Macs in the wild. Researchers also warn that Apple’s transition from Intel to M1 may also allow other bad actors to find holes in the process.
◎Data source:The Verge、Red Canary
Source: KOCPC Chinese