Mysterious Macintosh Malware

2021-03-02 12:05

Once an hour, infected Macs check a control server to see if there are any new commands the malware should run or binaries to execute.

The lack of a final payload suggests that the malware may spring into action once an unknown condition is met.

The malware comes with a mechanism to completely remove itself, a capability that's typically reserved for high-stealth operations.

The malware is notable for a version that runs natively on the M1 chip that Apple introduced in November, making it only the second known piece of macOS malware to do so.

The malware has been found in 153 countries with detections concentrated in the US, UK, Canada, France, and Germany.

Researchers from Red Canary, the security firm that discovered the malware, are calling the malware Silver Sparrow.

News URL

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2021/03/mysterious-macintosh-malware.html

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