Russian cyberspies blamed for U.S. Democratic National Committee hacks are now targeting Apple Macs

“Security researchers have discovered a macOS malware program that’s likely part of the arsenal used by the Russian cyberespionage group blamed for hacking into the U.S. Democratic National Committee last year,” Lucian Constantin reports for IDG News Service. “The group, which is known in the security industry under different names, including Fancy Bear, Pawn Storm, and APT28, has been operating for almost a decade. It is believed to be the sole user and likely developer of a Trojan program called Sofacy or X-Agent. X-Agent variants for Windows, Linux, Android, and iOS have been found in the wild in the past, but researchers from Bitdefender have now come across what appears to be the first macOS version of the Trojan.”

“It’s possible a macOS malware downloader dubbed Komplex, found in September, might be involved,” Constantin reports. “Komplex infected Macs by exploiting a known vulnerability in the MacKeeper antivirus software, according to researchers from Palo Alto Networks who investigated the malware at the time.”

“APT28 is considered to be one of the most sophisticated and successful cyberespionage groups in the world and it frequently uses zero-day exploits,” Constantin reports. “The group has been blamed for many hacking operations around the world over the years, and its selection of targets has frequently reflected Russia’s geopolitical interests.”

Read more in the full article here.

MacDailyNews Note: Do not install MacKeeper. Certainly do not buy MacKeeper. If you have MacKeeper, uninstall it now.

SEE ALSO:
MacKeeper scamware leaks 13 million Mac owners’ data, leaves passwords open to easy cracking – December 15, 2015
Security researcher claims to have downloaded sensitive data from 13 million accounts of MacKeeper scamware app – December 14, 2015
MacKeeper buyers ask for refunds in droves following class-action lawsuit – October 23, 2015
MacKeeper customers can file a claim to get their money back – August 10, 2015
Don’t waste your money on OS X snake oil for your Mac – July 28, 2015
How to detect and remove MacKeeper and keylogger malware on your Mac – July 17, 2015
Controversial MacKeeper security program opens critical hole on Mac computers – May 12, 2015
What ‘MacKeeper’ is and why you should avoid it – January 21, 2015
How to uninstall MacKeeper from your Mac – December 19, 2014

101 Comments

  1. Blamed? Gee I guess that lesson about blaming Iraqis for an iWMD (imaginary Weapons of Mass Destruction) feel on minds too dumb to figure out the obvious.

    The blame game, you don’t need proof when you are above the law.

        1. Ah, the little peckerwood is back. Apologist for the incompetents. What a shit show they have going today, selling out to the Ruskies, no one knows what’s going on, yeah your guys got this alright, what a joke, the entire planet laughs.

        2. What about 3-0, did that stump you? Notice the punctuation used in this sentence? Granted that last could be a statement or a question, posed it as a question to get your gears running.

        3. ‘Muchacho”, I’d be proud to be a muchacho if I were Mexican or Spanish, why do you go for the lowest of the low when your ass is getting kicked? Run out of catchy phrases again or quotes that don’t really underscore your stupid points?

        4. Whoa, I seem to recall you saying that as long as you had a bottle of cheap grappa and your mom and sister were playing radio bingo in the other room, you could keep this up all night. Where’s your stamina?

        5. Sorry bot, but just had to send one more. Sean the Spicer girl announced the Twitter in Chief” did NOT send Putin Valentines roses this year. Thought you’d like to know. Just in case ….

        6. What is sad is your relentless juvenile accusations and schoolyard name calling that you throw around with ZERO FACTS. Got it? Good.

          Your faithful and proud, Trumpanzee… 🐒

        7. At today’s presser when asked about America’s future dependence on urainiam the President responded (paraprashing but not much) urainium has good uses and bad uses. Yikes!!! It wasn’t a quiz where if you were uncertain about the answer then check both boxes, wow. And this is your man, the person you believe to right all the injustices as you perceive them? Frightening indeed. What’s your answer to when you’re called at 3 am and asked “is a strong dollar good or is a weak dollar good?”.

        8. During the campaign, Trump fielded criticisms of his world knowledge by insisting that as CEO of America, he’d surround himself with the finest minds in every field, who would tender him their sage advice. That shrewd response calmed many potential voters. The only trouble with that was that his presidential appointments were made precisely in ignorance of the issues, coming from lists prepared by his advisors, whose grasp of the issues seems even sketchier.

          That doesn’t mean that Trump is a bad President. He knows how to fire people, and he will do that as often as necessary to protect his brand. On that we can rely.

        1. These posts are not a waste of time at all; just the opposite. They illuminate the thinking processes of our fellow Americans, and they illustrate the moral and logical pitfalls of politics. If you don’t play, you can’t win.

      1. It’s not my word, it is Julian Assange’s. If you’re stupid enough to believe the horseshoe line from the Central Intelligence Agency, well…an official membership in The American Ovine Association will be mailed to you along with your very own Magic Bullet. Virtually every atrocity since 1947 committed on behalf of the United States government can be sourced back to the CIA.

        wake the fück up.

        1. Oh, just checked the freepers. The big lede is Chris “dunking donuts” Christie wants to have lunch with the “tweeter in chief”. Do you think the WH has enough in their kitchens? Can’t begin to imagine the conversation, did you hear that Paul is dead? Hah

        2. Have you noticed the “fat ones” waist line? What an athelete, the perfect person to lead the country, in fact if you go back 40-50 years there isn’t a waistline to match that one. He already looks like he has “stroke face”, you know, that stunned look like you have no idea what the fuck just happened.

        3. Well, I have not noticed a “stroke face” or unusually large waistline, and unlike you, I couldn’t care less. Such a petty post.

          What counts: Make America Great Again!

        4. Funny how all the conservative websites only want to find out who that “cocksucker” was who leaked this, we need to get back to Benghazi/some bitch. Chaffetz is the biggest clown of this years circus season and it’s only just getting under way. Doomed if this is how we respond.

        5. ‘Yeah whatever” sounds like you need the sleep, just can’t keep up to all the shit your dad keeps throwing at the American people. Wonder what tomorrow will bring, that’s what I’m hearing all over, or as daddy says ‘people are saying”. Hah

        6. Let’s see, two mentions by you suggesting I move to Canada. Tell you what, I’ll move to Canada and you move to Mexico and after a year we’ll compare notes. You haven’t the slightest clue of how tough it is for the average farmer/person in Mexico has it compared to your “oh I’ll just tweet my discontent’. You’re a total fucker bot.

        7. Seriously, are you pulling an NSA on me??? That would be hilarious if if wasn’t so creepy. Get this, if you want to delve into that kind of shit you should know there’s some serious penalties for that. Sober up!!!!

        8. As for the extended question marks and exclamation points that’s generally used to respond to someone who’s totally off center. By the way, who won at bingo tonight, your mom or your sister?

        9. You’re going to lecture on English syntax? Laughable since you’ve been corrected a half dozen times. Better you should lecture Jeff Sessions on law.

        10. The “Voice of Treason” has me laughing my ass off, man you are one serious spook, next thing you know you’ll find out Nixon actually was guilty or maybe Oliver North really did ship them damn guns for Reagan. What a joke. What’s next, Flynn arrested for treason or botvinick admits he’s a bot and not actually human, or Trump finally admits he has no idea of what the fuck actually goes on in this place, or anywhere for that matter. Hah

        11. Belligerent Asswipe… The name of this site is Mac Daily News, not Incessant Infantile Whining Daily News or Belligerent Asswipery Daily News, or Frothing Shrivel-Hearted Hatred Daily News. Just Fuck Off.

    1. Damn, botty. You certainly do love to post on this forum! Most of your posts contain meaningless drivel intended to be insulting. And you demonstrate so little imagination – your posts from one day to the next and one article to the next are largely just rehashes of last week, last month, last year…

      I find it particularly humorous that you are attacking others as bitter losers. That is the very definition of your existence from 2008 until the most recent election. In fact, you are still a bitter loser, you just think that you won.

      We shall survive Trump and his menagerie of appointees. And the country will outlive the ossified viewpoints, intolerance, and “gut feel” mentality of you and your ilk. I am encouraged by the more enlightened attitudes of many members of the younger generations. You may have fooled some of them for a little while, but the deceptions and ineptitude will backfire on your party in the long term.

      A crowd of thirty thousand rabid supporters is in my backyard cheering, so everything that I say must be true.

        1. First is as serious as cancer and takes no prisoners.. botvinnik tells jokes and can be persuaded that he’s made a mistake, but only if the persuader is gentle as a lamb.

    1. MacKeeper is actually scamware: it does nothing nefarious other than part fools and their money. The company that makes MacKeeper and PCKeeper lost two class-action lawsuits in 2016. And yet they continue to foist it upon the unsuspecting. Such is our so-called legal system.

      Avoid it all costs!

  2. 29 comments by Botvinnik ? It’s bad enough that we
    have to put up with a president that is functionally
    crazy. I’m deleting all AMD bookmarks from all
    my Apple iPads, my iPhone, MacBook, iMac, and
    Apple TV.

  3. Bottom line: do not have any AV running on your Mac.

    First time ever, though, I had Safari hijacked this morning. You know the routine: your mac has x viruses and they are stealing everything, blah blah, ring this toll-free number. (If it happens, hold option, find safarisavedstate folder in Go/Library/Safari and trash it. Fixed)

  4. Once again MDN devolves into a platform for botvinnik to display his willful ignorance and extreme partisanship. We can only assume botvinnik is somehow related to the forum moderators.

    Asshats like botty has found excuses for his team to take no blame for the stupid moves it makes. The current disaster of an administration that at best is incompetent, and may very well be found to be treasonous. US intelligence knows very well that Russia is using cyber terrorism to gain control over Trump. They likely funded his campaign for all we know. The truth will be revealed soon enough. Giving insider access to Russian spies is a bigger deal than Watergate. So partisan bloggers, PLEASE stop making excuses for the buffoon in chief. For the sake of national security, Trump’s impeachment cannot come a moment too soon.

    1. Follow-on thought: When Trump is impeached, as it increasingly looks to be possible, then Pence will assume the presidency and at least there will be some liklihood that conservative principles would be implemented without unelected operatives like Bannon and his russian friends running the show.

      It remains to be seen if botvinnik would clear the mud from his eyes and support a relatively more sane conservative from his political party to get the USA back on track, but it’s plainly obvious that cheerleaders for Trump have been duped by the con man. Trump and his hand-picked assistants like Conway et al are truly clueless and will damage the USA with their incessant missteps.

      1. “Follow-on thought: When Trump is impeached, as it increasingly looks to be possible …”

        LOL!!! 😆😆😆😆😆

        Let’s get back to planet Earth, Mike, and take stock in the fever pitch hate of the Democrat media/party, aka the New York Times, giving you ideas and cover today to spout off irresponsibility.

        Problem is, we are witnessing false hyperbolic efforts, WITHOUT VERIFIABLE FACTS, and calling it worse than Watergate? Seriously?!?!?

        Sorry to say, this is the most irresponsible reporting by the NY Slimes in HISTORY! Not surprising, the Democrat dominated so called journalists in collusion (not yet on DNC payroll), are manufacturing a false Trump narrative on a daily basis. But you love it, right Mike?

        Obviously, you have swallowed the hook, line and sinker. I will be paying attention to this 🐂💩 story and I will remind you In the future when it does not amount to a hill of beans … 😆

        1. Did you catch the “presser” today? About as verifiable as anything the public/press has ever seen that it’s not just verifiable but also he’s certifiable. Your blind faith in whatever it is (it’s certainly not conservatism) is more like blind hate. Can’t imagine the traumatic event(s) in your life that contributed to this but I urge you to seek help. You’ve lost the ability to consider a situation from more than one angle, something that can have rather serious consequences. Speaking of hook, line and sinker, wow, you just did the entire tackle box!

        2. Nice try blind faith Demoncrat troll. But about as truthful as the PC media that works for the party 24/7.

          Never so proud of Trump’s performance as today. Masterful. Improv. Unrehearsed. No script. Comfortable. Having fun. Toying with the media like you play with a kitten.

          He can’t be bought. He can’t be intimidated. He is keeping his promises and works tirelessly for the American people to make a better world. Imagine that for a politician!

          The media got totally schooled today like never before and I never saw anything like it in my lifetime.

          Simply, another UNPRECEDENTED chapter … 👏🏻🇺🇸😄

        3. I like a spontaneous, emotional personality. There is something appealing about it, in an animal way. It is only after the performance that my feelings fade away and I can seriously think about it. What was the strategy, the goal; what were the competing factors, and was there evidence that they were all considered beforehand? Thinking is hard work, so I sometimes just go with my gut feeling and shelve the analysis for later, which seems never to happen. Ah, but enough about the dating scene; back to the press conference…

        4. That animal appeal you speak of is certainly legendary, rare and attractive to many. At the end of the day, requires serious thinking on many levels to evaluate the impact. But at times on short notice, when my gut kicks in — the head takes a breather and orders a pizza. Mushrooms, please. Your last line, so true an analogy, and a surprise pivot gem made me laugh … 😊

  5. He was about improved as any Russian sell-out with a gun to the back of his head. Stellar performance they’d say. As for your 24/7 performance, where’s your prince today, oh campaining in Florida, seriously, someone should tell him the election is over and “gulp”‘ you won.

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