Slashdot Mirror
Proof-of-Concept Ransomware Affects Macs (vice.com)
sarahnaomi writes: Ransomware, the devilish family of malware that locks down a victim's files until he or she coughs up a hefty bounty, may soon be coming to Mac. Last week, a Brazilian security researcher produced a proof-of-concept for what appears to be the first ransomware to target Mac operating systems (Mac OS X). On Monday, cybersecurity company Symantec verified the researcher's findings. "Mabouia is the first case of file-based crypto ransomware for OS X, albeit a proof-of-concept," Symantec wrote in a blog post. "It's simple code, I did it in two days," [said] the creator of the malware.
Great! You can encrypt some files. You're amazing!
Show me a zero-click network infection vector, then I'll be a little worried. Yes, I've already removed Flash and never installed Adobe Reader. No, getting me to execute an email attachment (after disabling Gatekeeper) doesn't count.
This is NOT a proof of concept of stealth ransomware using some 0-day exploit etc. You have to actually download it, choose to run it, close the warning box that is popping up to warn you exactly of this sort of software. That's where I stopped reading, I mean, most competent programmers can write a program that ransom your documents in two days. Heck, I bet there are some who in two days of coding could even manage to bundle in a multi-level FPS game. The hard part is to get ransomware to run without the user explicitly installing it.
Unless I am missing something, in which case you can enlighten me..
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
Microsft.
to get his ransomware I have to download the file. launch it, give it administrator rights, type in my admin password.
ZOMG we are all gonna die!!!!!!
Come on, there has to be an exploit that get's completely around all security and can install silently on OSX. are these guys not trying?
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
We already know that the typical Mac users is naive "there are no viruses for Mac!" and we also know there's a whole niche market of Apple users with more money than brains. I expect these people to haul in more money than the Windows ransomeware guys.
If not for the ongoing application compatibility issues with El Capitan :)
Interview with the malware's creator: http://news.softpedia.com/news...
Yeah this story is a bit silly. What concept was proved, exactly, that Macs can run encryption software?
Still, it is a reminder that bad things can happen on any computer, so have regular backups, test those backups, and don't store the backups right next to your main system.
Lately I've seen a lot of people with "back ups" to read/write network storage, where the machine pushes it's backup to a network drive it can write to. No bueno. Ransomware will encrypt any accessible network drives too, so your "back ups" will be gone. Lightning, theft, flood, etc would also destroy these back ups at the same time that they destroy the primary machine. backups really need to be offsite and be pull, not push - if your machine SENDS backups, to storage it can write to, the bad guy is going to delete or those backups or take them hostage too.
Time Machine, instead of letting it sit in your I'll-get-to-it-someday pile of shit-to-do.
If Windows users are any indication, they might learn the value of backups by the third formatted hard drive.
Am I missing something, or is there not a single hole or bug being exploited here?
Are we...are we confirming that if a user downloads a program and actively grants it access, it can do things that programs are allowed to do?
For serious?
Obliteracy: Words with explosions
Another BS summary.
"Ransomware, the devilish family of malware that locks down a victim's files until he or she coughs up a hefty bounty, may soon be coming to Mac. "
Then proceeds to say someone wrote code that encrypts files and asks for money. I could applescript something in a couple hours that would confuse the average user of any OS. This is not news.
If you ever wanted proof that the world is completely chaotic and that there is no God, the fact that ransomware exists is proof enough in my book.
http://gamehacking.org/vb/threads/12747-nensondubois-codes http://twitter.com/nensondubois_
Not a lot of details, but seems to be yet another example of a malicious Microsoft Office macro virus. Requires the end user to open a malicious Office document, don't say how this leads to running the actual payload.
One important detail is left out- by running this locally, he skips the part where it warns you about running stuff off of the net. And of course, it's not so much an OS X problem as it is a Microsoft Office problem, because that's the vector.
So OS X can be owned, if you skip OS warnings AND use a Mircosoft product to actually do the owning, which even then can't act at root. Good grief man.
"to target Mac operating systems (Mac OS X)"
no shit, I thought they would target Mac OS 7.01, thanks for the clarification numbnuts