The Fallout from Flashback Malware

The Fallout from Flashback Malware

Apple has always been keen to highlight the high-level of security offered by their computing products. However, now they cannot make that claim with that great a force largely due to the Flashback malware. Masquerading as a harmless Flash update, the malware installed a backdoor trojan utilizing a vulnerability in Java, which has since now been patched.

According to web security firm, Kaspersky Lab, over half a million users were affected by the Flashback malware. Even more damnning for Apple is the fact that another web security firm, Dr. Web can confirm similar numbers while also finding that at least 274 of the users at Cupertino also fell victim to the botnet.

Flashback hit the United States of America the worst, followed by Canada, UK, Australia, France and then Italy. With the popularity of Macs surging in recent years, it is only a matter of time before someone made a concerted effort to crack their security. Can we perhaps think of Flashback as the final official seal of approval that Apple has made it to the big leagues?

Source: Dr. Web and Securelist via Arstechnica