Palo Alto Networks Inc (NYSE:PANW) announced today that its unit 42 has discovered a new family of malware affecting Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) OSX desktop devices and iOS mobile devices.
The malware as per Palo Alto the new malware named WireLurker has the ability to infect all iOS device including the non-jailbroken iOS devices by way of Trojans and repackaged OS X applications posing to be a new era in n malware across Apple’s desktop and mobile platforms.
This new malware seems to be the first of its kind that can iOS apps in the same way we get our PC’s and applications infected with viruses. It’s also the first malware that can install 3rd party apps even on non-jailbroken iOS devices.
“WireLurker is unlike anything we’ve ever seen in terms of Apple iOS and OS X malware. The techniques in use suggest that bad actors are getting more sophisticated when it comes to exploiting some of the world’s best-known desktop and mobile platforms. As such we have provided full protection to Palo Alto Networks customers and published a detailed report so others can assess the risk and take appropriate measures to protect themselves.” said Ryan Olson, Intelligence Director, Unit 42, Palo Alto Networks
Given these types of characteristics of such malware, it definitely can have potential threat and damage to governments, businesses and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) users around the world.
The WireLurker malware was discovered by Palo Alto’s unit 42 also known as the Palo Alto Networks threat intelligence team.
According to PRNEWSWIRE, Palo Alto Networks has released signatures to detect all WireLurker Command & Control communication traffic. It is recommended that customers using OS X or iOS devices deploy a strict policy for blocking WireLurker traffic using the Palo Alto Networks enterprise security platform. A full list of system recommendations, remediation techniques and best practices is included in the WireLurker report.
