FruitFly Malware that Attacks Macs Revealed with Fresh Details

In 2017, there has been a revelation about one especially dangerous kind of Mac malicious program running on computers while remaining undetected for a certain period of time.

The malicious software called FruitFly is the discovery of Malwarebytes a security company; however, researchers have also discovered one fresh strain of it in the mask of slightly different software. The malicious program enables hackers to gain hold over Mac PCs from remote. Currently, fresh details regarding FruitFly as well as its recent versions are in the open.

Security Company Synack says that some 400 PCs have been found contaminated with FruitFly with the possibility of many more. Albeit security researchers aren't certain about the malware's first appearance, they discovered its activities on the operating system known as Mac Yosemite that got launched during October 2014. Dailymail.co.uk posted this online dated July 27, 2017.

FruitFly's first detection was during January 2017 when Malwarebytes the anti-malware provider posted about its existence on its company blog.

According to that post, FruitFly contaminates Mac PCs while controls webcams, captures screenshots as well as establishes connection with other computers of the network. It as well enables attackers to access the tainted PC's files enabling them gain total hold on the systems.

Wardle who discovered the other version states that it distinguishably has contaminated a huge number of more Mac computers that both macOS and AV programs could not detect. When Wardle examined the latest variant, he managed decrypting many backup URLs, which the malware had hard-coded into itself.

Wardle was surprised at finding the URLs as being continuously available. In 2 days after an address was registered from amongst all, nearly 400 tainted Macs established connection with the server. The PCs were mostly situated in U.S households. While Wardle merely noted the Macs' usernames and Internet Protocol addresses, he managed utilizing the malware for monitoring the PC-users' activities after they had been unknowingly infected.

Whilst many AV solutions can't detect FruitFly, VirusTotal that detects malware, of late, showed that 19 of its products that detect viruses and protect end-points from the total 56 can now recognize FruitFly infections.

» SPAMfighter News - 8/2/2017