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ComputerWorld Independent 

What to do about Apple’s shameful Mac security flaw

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Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2017 04:13:00 -0800

Complacency and incompetence are the biggest computer security threats, and Apple’s latest Mac security flaw seems to combine both of these. The flaw means anyone with physical access to your Mac can get inside the machine and tinker with it.

What’s the problem?

The problem (which first got disclosed here) was first revealed in a Tweet by Lemi Orhan Ergin, who wrote:

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Lock it down: The macOS security guide

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Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Wed, 15 Nov 2017 06:11:00 -0800

Apple’s systems are highly secure, but if your private or enterprise data matters to you it’s essential to ensure your Mac is as highly secured as possible. This quick guide should help you do just that.

Keep it zippy

Malware is everywhere and Macs are not immune. You can ignore the potential threat if you choose, but if you are an enterprise user holding confidential data, an educator in possession of private data, or even a Bitcoin collector who maybe clicked a few too many links on one of those dodgy faucet websites, you should know to get your Mac secured.

Common sense first

Before we get into some of the security technology inside your Mac (including a wide range of security improvements in High Sierra) it is also important to point out that the biggest threat your computer faces is the person using it. Cyberattackers are highly sophisticated and can piece together lots of information about you, or companies associated with you by simply getting a little more data a little at a time. Make it hard for those people by following simple tips, including:

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ComputerWorld Independent 

MobileIron adds Apple security along with support for iOS 11

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Credit to Author: Lucas Mearian| Date: Tue, 05 Sep 2017 21:04:00 -0700

Enterprise mobility management (EMM) software vendor MobileIron today announced its Apple release, aimed at the growing need for enterprises to provide IT managers with more robust management and security features for Macs.

While Windows and even Chrome-based laptops are already included in EMM consoles, macOS hardware has traditionally been treated as an outlier in the office, according to Nick McGuire, vice president of Enterprise Research at CCS Insight.

While MobileIron’s software suite already supported macOS for basic functions, including device configuration, millennials entering the workforce favor Apple’s line of laptops – driving the need for a unified endpoint management strategy that includes security and bulk licensing, according to Ojas Rege, MobileIron’s chief strategy officer.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Why Apple’s future’s up on ransomware

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Credit to Author: Jonny Evans| Date: Wed, 28 Jun 2017 03:59:00 -0700

This week’s big security story is the so-called ‘Petya’ ransomware attack. It is not the first such attack, won’t be the last, and its success will prompt cybercriminals to attack again, and again, and again. In this new threat environment, there are zero excuses for any enterprise, public or private, to be running Windows XP, or any other insecure platform.

Even the cops

Chronic underfunding and a conservative government ideologically committed to cuts mean key UK public services remain under threat of cyberattack. In recent weeks, the National Health Service saw its computing systems fail because they relied too much on unprotected Windows systems. This morning we learned that the UK’s Metropolitan Police force still uses over 18,000 computers running Windows XP. The key police force of the UK’s biggest city is therefore currently vulnerable to cyber-attack.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Supply chain attack on HandBrake video converter app hits Mac users

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Credit to Author: Lucian Constantin| Date: Mon, 08 May 2017 08:04:00 -0700

Hackers compromised a download server for HandBrake, a popular open-source program for converting video files, and used it to distribute a macOS version of the application that contained malware.

The HandBrake development team posted a security warning on the project’s website and support forum on Saturday, alerting Mac users who downloaded and installed the program from May 2 to May 6 to check their computers for malware.

The attackers compromised only a download mirror hosted under download.handbrake.fr, with the primary download server remaining unaffected. Because of this, users who downloaded HandBrake-1.0.7.dmg during the period in question have a 50/50 chance of having received a malicious version of the file, the HandBreak team said.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Apple: Macs and iPhones are safe from newly revealed CIA exploits

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Credit to Author: Lucian Constantin| Date: Fri, 24 Mar 2017 12:11:00 -0700

The Mac and iPhone exploits described in new documents attributed to the CIA were patched years ago, according to Apple.

WikiLeaks released a new set of files Thursday that supposedly came from the CIA. They contain details about the agency’s alleged malware and attack capabilities against iPhones and Mac computers.

The documents, dated 2012 and earlier, describe several “implants” that the CIA can install in the low-level extensible firmware interface (EFI) of Mac laptop and desktop computers. These EFI rootkits allow the agency’s macOS spying malware to persist even after the OS is reinstalled.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Leaked iCloud credentials came from third parties, Apple says

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Credit to Author: Lucian Constantin| Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2017 14:13:00 -0700

A group of hackers threatening to wipe data from Apple devices attached to millions of iCloud accounts didn’t obtain whatever log-in credentials they have through a breach of the company’s services, Apple said.

“There have not been any breaches in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud and Apple ID,” an Apple representative said in an emailed statement. “The alleged list of email addresses and passwords appears to have been obtained from previously compromised third-party services.”

A group calling itself the Turkish Crime Family claims to have login credentials for more than 750 million icloud.com, me.com and mac.com email addresses, and the group says more than 250 million of those credentials provide access to iCloud accounts that don’t have two-factor authentication turned on.

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ComputerWorld Independent 

Newly leaked documents show low-level CIA Mac and iPhone hacks

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Credit to Author: Lucian Constantin| Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2017 11:53:00 -0700

The CIA has had tools to infect Apple Mac computers by connecting malicious Thunderbolt Ethernet adapters to them since 2012, according to new documents purported to be from the agency and published by WikiLeaks.

One of the documents, dated Nov. 29, 2012, is a manual from the CIA’s Information Operations Center on the use of a technology codenamed Sonic Screwdriver. It is described as “a mechanism for executing code on peripheral devices while a Mac laptop or desktop is booting.”

Sonic Screwdriver allows the CIA to modify the firmware of an Apple Thunderbolt-to-Ethernet adapter so that it forces a Macbook to boot from an USB stick or DVD disc even when its boot options are password protected.

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