 |
| Apple is trying to prevent Silver Sparrow from spreading to Mac computers |
Apple said: Steps have been taken to prevent the spread of malware called Silver Sparrow on the Apple Mac M1 computers.
The company revoked the security certificate for the developer account that signed the package and prevents it from being installed on other Macs.
Apple noted that in addition to revoking certificates, it has also used a lot of security hardware and software in its products and services, and provided regular software updates that can prevent threats from taking effect.
Apple's action is to reduce the impact of malware in the future, as Silver Sparrow forces an infected Mac to scan the control server once every hour.
Apple says that malware has yet to introduce malicious code, and any software downloaded outside of the Mac App Store provides users with industry-leading protection.
Apple requires all software documentation, whether downloaded from the App Store or elsewhere.
According to researchers from Red Canary Security, Silver Sparrow malware has infected nearly 30,000 Mac computers worldwide.
Tony Lambert, analyst at Red Canary, stated that the malware does not exhibit the expected behavior of the regular adware programs that typically target macOS.
It is not known who the malware is targeting, including the self-destruct mechanism that can remove all traces of malware, it appears that the malware was not used and what triggered this feature.
It's worth noting that the code in the Silver Sparrow was originally implemented via the Apple M1 chip, which was released in November. This makes it the second known malware program.
The researchers wrote: While we did not note that Silver Sparrow also contains other harmful ingredients, compatibility with the M1 chip, global coverage, relatively high infection rate, and operational readiness indicate that Silver Sparrow poses a serious threat.
According to data on the Malwarebytes website, Silver Sparrow infected Macs in 153 countries on February 17th. In the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, and Germany, the virus has a higher focus on preventing ransomware attacks.