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OS X In Hacker’s Gun Sites
John Stith
Staff Writer
2006-02-28
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
Recent debates over the safety of Mac OS X or the lack thereof have been traveling around the Internet. Loyal Mac folks chomp at the bit every time someone suggests their machine may be becoming unsafe but the reality is just that. The cold fact is Macs aren't as safe as they used to be and it's only going to get worse.
Mac users are quite protective of their blue suede computers, there's no question. Over the month of February though, a number of exploits in the form of worms were published on the web. Sophos was the first to pick up on this and other concept code quickly followed. Then a flaw in shell scripts for Safari crept up. Mac users held their ground, saying that the worms were really Trojans and they were nothing to worry about anyway. People with half a brain should be able to deal with these problems because they are simple.
Right before the concept code popped up, Jay Beale said at Shmoo that 2006 would be the year of Mac assaults. Then the code came. On Friday, Kevin Liston of the SANS supported Internet Storm Center (ISC) commented on the Handler's Diary that "OS X is clearly on the radar of exploit-developers."
Soon, even your beloved little Mac laptop will be spending its spare CPU cycles sending out advertisements for Viagra and Cialis.
The recent news of these vulnerabilities in the OS is getting plenty of attention. Some would argue that things are being blown out of proportion. I think there is some lazy journalism, and sensationalism afoot. Yet, like any FUD-storm there is usually some kernel of truth. In this case, this kernel is not so small and insignificant.
Perhaps this writer encouraged some of the sensationalism when I commented that viruses would flow like water, however, even a conservative point of view on matters like SANS is suggesting:
Secure or Easy-to-Use: Pick one. "Security is a compromise" is a well-known axiom. In an effort to use as little hype as possible I only suggest that now is the time for Mac users to seriously consider anti-virus, personal firewalls, and safe browsing habits. It is the time for Mac sysadmins to develop strong patch management policies. This likely means that a Mac is no longer the no-brainer-choice for what computer to get for your parents.
In many cases, Windows users weren't always smart about how they handled things. Many developed bad habits by opening any email or worse, opening what was in the email. They'd chase down websites of interest and many other things. This wasn't a fault of Microsoft per se. It was bad surfing habits and you better believe that if Macs were as widespread as Windows, they'd be hacked just as much.
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About the Author:
John is a staff writer for SecurityProNews covering cyber security.
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