{"id":548648,"date":"2006-05-02T10:40:38","date_gmt":"2006-05-02T10:40:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost:8888\/wordpress\/technology\/548648-security-threats-grow-for-mac-computers.html"},"modified":"2006-05-02T10:40:38","modified_gmt":"2006-05-02T10:40:38","slug":"security-threats-grow-for-mac-computers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/technology\/548648-security-threats-grow-for-mac-computers.html","title":{"rendered":"Security threats grow for Mac computers"},"content":{"rendered":"

The SANS Institute, a Washington-based computer research center, said in its updated list of "Top 20 Internet Security Vulnerabilities" that hackers and virus writers are increasingly targeting the Apple operating system. <\/font><\/p>\n

In its update, SANS cited "rapid growth in critical vulnerabilities" being discovered in the Mac operating system. <\/font><\/p>\n

The Apple software "still remains safer than Windows, but its reputation for offering a bullet-proof alternative to Windows is in tatters," the report said. <\/font><\/p>\n

"The reason it is such a problem from a security perspective is that users feel invincible" with Apple computers, said Ed Skoudis, a SANS security analyst who briefed journalists on the latest threats. <\/font><\/p>\n

Skoudis said many hackers use Apple computers because of the "cleanness of the interchange," and as a result are increasing their search for flaws in the operating software. <\/font><\/p>\n

Apple’s decision to switch to Intel processors may also contribute to the trend because "the bad the guys know the assembly language for the Intel chips." <\/font><\/p>\n

SANS experts said hackers are finding ways to attack alternatives to Windows including the open-source Mozilla Firefox browser, which is gaining in market share against Internet Explorer. <\/font><\/p>\n

But they indicated that threats remain high for many PC users who fail to use updated security protection. <\/font><\/p>\n

"I think it’s almost time to rename the Internet Explorer to ‘Internet exploiter’ because the chances of being exploited (by hackers and viruses) are much higher," said Rohit Dhamankar, a security research and editor of the Top 20 list. <\/font><\/p>\n

Skoudis noted that some Windows alternatives may appear safer but only they have fewer users and are thus a less attractive target. <\/font><\/p>\n

"We have just as many vulnerabilities in Mac OS X or in Firefox as with Internet Explorer and Windows, but the bad guys really focus on market share and where the money is." <\/font><\/p>\n

"So you’re probably safer (using these alternatives) but not more secure," Skoudis added. "You’re not impervious, don’t think you have some shield of invincibility because you’re not using Windows." <\/font><\/p>\n

Skoudis said experts are concerned about the growing threats of "malware," such as viruses and spyware, aimed at financial gain, such as stealing passwords or account information. <\/font><\/p>\n

This is a shift from the viruses that were strictly nuisances, with profit being the main motive. <\/font><\/p>\n

"You’ve seen the rise of a malicious code industry," he said, adding that "the industry has its own research and development arm." <\/font><\/p>\n

Inet-Bridge<\/i>\u00a0<\/font><\/p>\n

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Security threats are rising for users of Apple Computer’s line of Mac computers, even though risks remain lower than for those using Microsoft Windows systems, a computer security center said on Monday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"idle","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"","_sma_facebook_post_id":"","_sma_instagram_post_id":"","_sma_threads_post_id":"","_sma_x_attempts":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-548648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=548648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/548648\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=548648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=548648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mybroadband.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=548648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}