Researchers create worms that infect Macs

Apple computers are believed to be more secure than a PC, particularly when it comes to the firmware. Looks like, this may not necessarily be true any more. Researchers Xeno Kovah, Trammell Hudson and Corey Kallenberg have now revealed that Mac has same vulnerabilities as Windows PCs. In demonstration to Wired, researchers have revealed that now a phishing email or click on a link on a malicious site can compromise the computer. “The exploit highlights that firmware (the software that boots a computer) isn’t typically encrypted out of the factory and doesn’t authenticate updates from the manufacturer,” points out Engadget. The researchers also revealed that these exploits are difficult to detect as security ‘software doesn’t scan the firmware and reinstalling the system doesn’t remove the problem. The new revelations come just before their ‘Thunderstrike 2: Sith Strike’ Black Hat presentation, which will be in addition to the exploit that was shown and spread last year by the ROM of infected external drives and accessories such as Thunderbolt to ethernet adapter. The researchers have reportedly alerted Apple about the issue and the company has already patched one exploit and partially patched another.