Mac Malware Cracks WatchGuard’s Top 10 List

Mac users may have known in their hearts that this was coming: For the first time, Mac-based malware appeared on WatchGuard's Top 10 list of the most common types of malware for Q3 2018. 

The latest "Internet Security Report" report, which analyzed the 100,000 most visited websites on Alexa.com, also found that 6.8% of those sites still support insecure versions of the SSL encryption protocol.

On the Mac front, users can no longer assume that the operating system offers more effective security, says Corey Nachreiner, WatchGuard's CTO. The Mac malware — which came in sixth on the security vendor's list — is primarily delivered via email and tries to trick victims into installing fake cleaning software.

"Mac users that haven't installed a security suite on the endpoint need to do so," Nachreiner says. "The days where Mac users can go to airports, coffee shops, and use home networks without added protections like a firewall and IP reputation services are over."

Marc Laliberte, senior security analyst at WatchGuard, says while it's true Apple designs security into the MacOS, the market dynamics have shifted.

"Hackers look for where they can get the most ROI, and for several years it was with Windows machines," Laliberte says. "Over the last five years, Mac laptops have become very popular, which is why we believe there is a surge in Mac malware."

Websites Need to Upgrade to TLS
As for the sites that still support insecure versions of the SSL, it's time for them to consider upgrading to TLS, Nachreiner says.

In fact, for organizations that don't collect sensitive information, it may make more sense to run an insecure site because running the website with https:// gives users the impression that the site is secure when it's not, he adds.

"The last thing you want to do is give people a false sense of security," Nachreiner says. "We recommend that organizations running websites with sensitive information use TLS 1.2 or TLS 1.3."

The WatchGuard report found that 5,383 websites in the top 100,000 websites visited on Alexa.com still accept SSL 2.0 and SSL 3.0 encryption. SSL 3.0 has been outdated since 2015, while SSL 2.0 was deprecated in 2011. The report also found that 20.9% of the top 100,000 websites do not use encryption at all.

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