Apple has confirmed that some of its Mac computers suffered from hacker attacks. This admission is unusual for Apple, who has long bragged about how its computers never get infected by viruses.
According to Apple, a “small number” of their computers were infected after employees visited a website for software developers that transmitted the malicious computer code. While the company did not elaborate on what happened, it could be a case of a very clever phishing.
The maker of Mac computers said it would release a patch to protect its users and that they are coordinating with law enforcement agencies to trace the source of the malware, which is believed to be similar to the one that targeted computers in Facebook’s headquarters last week.
Apple had long claimed in its advertisements that Mac computers were resistant to malicious software, which was a key selling point against Windows-based PCs. Online security experts have argued that, in reality, Apple is behind Microsoft when it comes to preventing malware, as proven when Flashback half a million Macs worldwide last year without users realizing it.
Source: Wall Street Journal
Image source: TechnoBuffalo.com
