“The first widespread ransomware attack on Apple Inc. computers is drawing attention to a growing and lucrative corner of the hacking underworld where attackers encrypt and hold data hostage until they are paid to unlock the information,” Alex Webb reports for Bloomberg.
“An estimated 6,500 Macs were infected with malicious software designed to make files inaccessible to owners of desktops and laptops, according to the Transmission Project, a file-sharing software provider,” Webb reports. “The decision to target Apple’s OS X software, which is both harder to hack and less widespread than Microsoft Corp.’s Windows, underscores how attractive the practice has become, according to Clifford Neuman, who teaches cybersecurity at the University of Southern California.”
Webb reports, “‘The business model is working so well on Windows that, when they had an opportunity to do so on Mac, they did it,’ Ryan Olson, intelligence director at Palo Alto Networks, said. ‘It’s been effective to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year.'”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Note: For Transmission users only:
Transmission’s website (https://www.transmissionbt.com) states:
Everyone running 2.90 on OS X should immediately upgrade to and run 2.92, as they may have downloaded a malware-infected file. This new version will make sure that the “OSX.KeRanger.A” ransomware (more information available here) is correctly removed from your computer.
Users of 2.91 should also immediately upgrade to and run 2.92. Even though 2.91 was never infected, it did not automatically remove the malware-infected file.
SEE ALSO:
Why you should stick with the Mac App Store for safer OS X software downloads – March 8, 2016
7 steps to protect yourself from over-hyped Mac ‘ransomware’ threat – March 7, 2016
Mac users targeted in first known OS X ransomware scam – March 6, 2016