4 ms·

> Don't these kinds of frankenstein mashups of different malware components of various quality occur pretty often Yes. > Or are all the components previously

by oefrha 6y ago

> Don't these kinds of frankenstein mashups of different malware components of various quality occur pretty often Yes. > Or are all the components previously unseen? Not really. From TFA: "My current gut feeling about all of this is that someone basically was designing a piece of Mac malware that would give them the ability to completely remotely control an infected system. And then they also added some ransomware capability as a way to make extra money." That basically described how ransomware was born, god knows how long ago. IMO the better question is why the hell attackers targeting macOS haven't been doing this until now (if we take their word for it). > is there some reason the interviewees and reporter imply this is a mystery? I suspect the reason is boring: they want to grab eyeballs.

kalium-xyz 6y ago
>why the hell attackers targeting macOS haven't been doing this until now AFAIK most companies which have business critical hardware that cant recover from ransomware attacks dont run macOS
- aphroz 6y ago
  Most probably run linux ;) I think that creators of ransomwares try to target the broader audience. The ROI is probably higher if you target Windows, as this it is probably running on 95% of the personal computers worldwide. Linux servers have probably more valuable data, but better security and backups. While I would be curious to know the percentage of Mac users who are installing softwares from another source than the app store. I will go even further, I am quite sure than a good percentage of Mac users never use any other software than an internet browser.
  - bryanrasmussen 6y ago
    >I am quite sure than a good percentage of Mac users never use any other software than an internet browser. that seems like a particularly expensive device for only internet browsing.
    - deleted 6y ago
      [deleted]
    - noisem4ker 6y ago
      I'm not sure why a reply disappeared here, but I feel like reaffirming its late content: >The strength of Apple products is to be perceived as a higher value thanks to design and marketing. People would buy a Gucci t-shirt for 300$, it's also particularly expensive for a t-shirt. At this point people don't buy the product for its intrinsic value, but for status and perceived value.
      - close04 6y ago
        While the brand always commands a premium (Gucci, Apple, etc.) the comparison is unfair. Fashion is all about image, not functionality so a Gucci t-shirt is for all intents and purposes a regular t-shirt with a Gucci logo (or worse [0]). In tech most companies do struggle to bring something all of their own. Apple in particular does an above average job at this: dedicated OS, dedicated CPUs, dedicated various other chips (like the T, W, U chips). Saying it's only a logo is disingenuous. [0] https://www.dailycal.org/2013/07/19/kanye-wests-ridiculously-expensive-plain-white-t-shirt-is-sadly-a-hot-item/ https://www.dailycal.org/2013/07/19/kanye-wests-ridiculously...
        tkeAmarktinClss 6y ago
        Extremely debatable. There are uncountable negatives as an Apple consumer. Sure you might have a few benefits, but you must deal with unavoidable pains at every turn.
        bryanrasmussen 6y ago
        I agree there are uncountable negatives as an Apple consumer, but I'm not sure they are any greater in number than the uncountable negatives of being a Windows consumer - and I kind of like Windows. Or for that matter if you're not a developer the uncountable negatives of Ubuntu.
  - evgen 6y ago
    I think that you are also going to find that shops with any significant percentage of Macs that the shared services are run on Linux and not Windows. In a Windows-only shop you can basically get complete control once you pop the PDC, but in a blended/hybrid setup you are unlikely to be able to make quick lateral traversal to the servers that you would need to compromise to make the effort lucrative. FWIW, I would bet that 25% or more of all enterprise Macs are also going to be running homebrew and a ton of standard unix software.
  - historyremade 6y ago
    I assure you the ROI is low on Windows compared to MacOS. A lot of rich people including I use MacOS than Windows. I've been Windows user for last 10 years and switched to Mac more recently. It just feel so amazing. I've never had a single machine crash like Windows had.
  - historyremade 6y ago
    In long run it's very cheap to use Mac Machines than Windows. IBM has switched to Mac because of that reason.
  - Angostura 6y ago
    > I am quite sure than a good percentage of Mac users never use any other software than an internet browser. Is that based on anything much, or is that just a bit of prejudice? Where I work its the PCs that are used as basic e-mail/word/browser machine - the Macs are used by people who are doing a bit more.
user5994461 6y ago
>>> IMO the better question is why the hell attackers targeting macOS haven't been doing this until now (if we take their word for it). They've been doing it for a while. Mac has been since the platform with the most malware since the past year or two. It's outclassed Windows. Adware is more widespread (changing browser homepage, injecting ads, paid popups), I think it makes more money on a regular basis than bricking laptops.

by oefrha 6y ago

kalium-xyz 6y ago

>why the hell attackers targeting macOS haven't been doing this until now AFAIK most companies which have business critical hardware that cant recover from ransomware attacks dont run macOS

aphroz 6y ago
Most probably run linux ;) I think that creators of ransomwares try to target the broader audience. The ROI is probably higher if you target Windows, as this it is probably running on 95% of the personal computers worldwide. Linux servers have probably more valuable data, but better security and backups. While I would be curious to know the percentage of Mac users who are installing softwares from another source than the app store. I will go even further, I am quite sure than a good percentage of Mac users never use any other software than an internet browser.
- bryanrasmussen 6y ago
  >I am quite sure than a good percentage of Mac users never use any other software than an internet browser. that seems like a particularly expensive device for only internet browsing.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
  - noisem4ker 6y ago
    I'm not sure why a reply disappeared here, but I feel like reaffirming its late content: >The strength of Apple products is to be perceived as a higher value thanks to design and marketing. People would buy a Gucci t-shirt for 300$, it's also particularly expensive for a t-shirt. At this point people don't buy the product for its intrinsic value, but for status and perceived value.
    - close04 6y ago
      While the brand always commands a premium (Gucci, Apple, etc.) the comparison is unfair. Fashion is all about image, not functionality so a Gucci t-shirt is for all intents and purposes a regular t-shirt with a Gucci logo (or worse [0]). In tech most companies do struggle to bring something all of their own. Apple in particular does an above average job at this: dedicated OS, dedicated CPUs, dedicated various other chips (like the T, W, U chips). Saying it's only a logo is disingenuous. [0] https://www.dailycal.org/2013/07/19/kanye-wests-ridiculously-expensive-plain-white-t-shirt-is-sadly-a-hot-item/ https://www.dailycal.org/2013/07/19/kanye-wests-ridiculously...
      - tkeAmarktinClss 6y ago
        Extremely debatable. There are uncountable negatives as an Apple consumer. Sure you might have a few benefits, but you must deal with unavoidable pains at every turn.
        bryanrasmussen 6y ago
        I agree there are uncountable negatives as an Apple consumer, but I'm not sure they are any greater in number than the uncountable negatives of being a Windows consumer - and I kind of like Windows. Or for that matter if you're not a developer the uncountable negatives of Ubuntu.
- evgen 6y ago
  I think that you are also going to find that shops with any significant percentage of Macs that the shared services are run on Linux and not Windows. In a Windows-only shop you can basically get complete control once you pop the PDC, but in a blended/hybrid setup you are unlikely to be able to make quick lateral traversal to the servers that you would need to compromise to make the effort lucrative. FWIW, I would bet that 25% or more of all enterprise Macs are also going to be running homebrew and a ton of standard unix software.
- historyremade 6y ago
  I assure you the ROI is low on Windows compared to MacOS. A lot of rich people including I use MacOS than Windows. I've been Windows user for last 10 years and switched to Mac more recently. It just feel so amazing. I've never had a single machine crash like Windows had.
- historyremade 6y ago
  In long run it's very cheap to use Mac Machines than Windows. IBM has switched to Mac because of that reason.
- Angostura 6y ago
  > I am quite sure than a good percentage of Mac users never use any other software than an internet browser. Is that based on anything much, or is that just a bit of prejudice? Where I work its the PCs that are used as basic e-mail/word/browser machine - the Macs are used by people who are doing a bit more.

user5994461 6y ago

>>> IMO the better question is why the hell attackers targeting macOS haven't been doing this until now (if we take their word for it). They've been doing it for a while. Mac has been since the platform with the most malware since the past year or two. It's outclassed Windows. Adware is more widespread (changing browser homepage, injecting ads, paid popups), I think it makes more money on a regular basis than bricking laptops.