Computer worm virus that infects Macbooks without detection

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A new computer worm has been designed to show that Apple Macbooks aren't as safe from viruses as many might think
A pair of security experts have found a flaw on Apple's Mac computers and developed an experimental virus to emphasise the danger.

Xeno Kovah and Trammell Hudson have created a computer worm called Thunderstrike 2 that can infect Apple's computers without the user ever knowing.

The worm exploits a vulnerability in Apple's firmware and can be spread through a phishing email or a simple USB stick plugged into a Macbook or iMac.

Firmware is the software that sits behind the operating system and is used in all computers - whether they run Apple software or Microsoft's Windows.

Kovah and Hudson are what's known as "white hat" hackers - that is, they discover problems with technology in order to help the manufacturers improve products.
Some "white hat" hackers spend their time finding flaws in software to alert companies and prevent others exploiting them
In this case, the infection requires users to physically open up their computers to deal with it.

“[The attack is] really hard to detect, it’s really hard to get rid of, and it’s really hard to protect against something that’s running inside the firmware,” Kovah told Wired.

“For most users that’s really a throw-your-machine-away kind of situation.

"Most people and organizations don’t have the wherewithal to physically open up their machine and electrically reprogram the chip.”
A computer worm, unlike a standard virus, does not need to become attached to a host program in order to work. It can be uploaded to a target machine and can replicate on its own.

And, because firmware operates below the operating system it is out of reach of antivirus products that many people install on their machines.

Apple's computers have long been touted as being safer than standard PCs but this latest exposure could undermine that. The company hasn't yet commented on the effect of the Thunderstrike 2 worm.

Meanwhile, Kovah and Hudson are planning to present their research at a security conference in Las Vegas later this week.


Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/techno...gy/hackers-expose-apple-security-flaw-6187896
 
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