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Apple Threats

AT&T; iPad hackers arrested, facing federal charges

Angela Moscaritolo January 18, 2011

Federal prosecutors in New Jersey have filed charges against two individuals believed to have stolen the personal information of 120,000 iPad users from AT&T;'s network this past June.

More Mac malware common on 2011 prediction lists

Dan Kaplan December 28, 2010

Will 2011 be the year that threats against Mac platforms and devices finally reach the tipping point? Yes, according to a number of security firms.

Apple releases QuickTime 7.6.9 to fix 15 flaws

Angela Moscaritolo December 09, 2010

Apple this week released an update to its QuickTime multimedia player to fix 15 vulnerabilities that may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code or obtain sensitive information, according to a security advisory. QuickTime 7.6.9 is available for machines running Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) and Windows 7, Vista, and XP SP 2 or later. The vulnerabilities, which could be exploited by tricking a user into viewing a maliciously crafted video or image file, already were fixed in Snow Leopard, with the Mac OS X 10.6.5 update that was released in November. — AM

Apple iOS 4.2 update fixes dozens of security flaws

Angela Moscaritolo November 23, 2010

Apple on Monday issued an update for its mobile operating system, iOS, which is used in iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices. The update, iOS 4.2, contains fixes for more than 40 flaws in components such as WebKit, CoreGraphics, Mail, Photos and Safari, according to Apple's security release notes. The vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to run malicious code on an affected device, initiate a phone call or cause applications to crash. The update also introduces number on non-security features to iOS devices, such as folders and multitasking for the iPad. iOS 4.2 can be downloaded via iTunes. — AM

Latest Mac OS X update locks out some PGP users

Angela Moscaritolo November 12, 2010

A massive security update from Apple this week fixed more than 130 security flaws in its Mac OS X operating system, but it left some PGP users unable to reboot their computers.

Dangers of personal device use in the workplace

Greg Masters November 11, 2010

A lot of threats already seen on PCs and laptops will move to mobile systems, a panelist said at SC World Congress in New York.

Five ways to enjoy your Apple and keep your corporate network squeaky clean

Patrick Sweeney, vice president of product management, SonicWALL November 05, 2010

As Apple devices gain more traction in the office, IT administrators must follow best practices to ensure these endpoints can be trusted.

Koobface exploit for Macs circulating in the wild

Dan Kaplan October 27, 2010

The notorious Koobface worm is back, this time with a variant that runs on Mac OS X machines.

Apple patches zero-day QuickTime flaw with 7.6.8 release

Dan Kaplan September 15, 2010

Apple on Wednesday released a new version of QuickTime to plug two vulnerabilities, including a zero-day flaw that is being actively exploited simply by tricking a victim into visiting a web page.

Active exploits targeting Apple QuickTime 0-day

Dan Kaplan September 08, 2010

Attackers are now actively exploiting a recently published zero-day vulnerability in Apple QuickTime, security firm Websense disclosed Tuesday.

Safari, Firefox updated for critical flaws

Angela Moscaritolo September 08, 2010

Apple and Mozilla on Tuesday both released updates to address multiple security vulnerabilities in their respective web browsers, Safari and Firefox. Apple's updates fix two flaws in Safari for Mac and three in Safari for Windows, according to a support article. The flaws could allow arbitrary code execution or an unexpected crash. Meanwhile, Mozilla issued updates for Firefox, the SeaMonkey application suite and the Thunderbird email client to resolve 14 vulnerabilities, 10 of which are labeled "critical." The bugs could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, obtain sensitive information, launch cross-site scripting attacks, or cause a denial-of-service condition. Users are advised to update to Firefox 3.6.9, SeaMonkey 2.0.7 and Thunderbird 3.1.3. — AM

Spammers inundate Apple's new social media service Ping

Angela Moscaritolo September 03, 2010

Apple's new social media service Ping already is being abused by spammers, security experts are warning.

Apple releases OS X update, fixes 13 flaws

Angela Moscaritolo August 25, 2010

Apple on Tuesday issued an update to Mac OS X to fix 13 flaws, including one that is similar to the "jailbreak" vulnerability already patched in its mobile OS.

Apple pushes new QuickTime version for Windows

Angela Moscaritolo August 13, 2010

Apple on Thursday issued a new version of its QuickTime video player for Windows to address a vulnerability that could allow cybercriminals to execute arbitrary code on an affected system.

Apple updates iPhone, iPad for "jailbreak" flaw

Angela Moscaritolo August 11, 2010

Apple on Wednesday issued updates for its iOS mobile operating system to fix a vulnerability that was used by many to jailbreak the latest iPhone.

Foxit Reader patched for "jailbreak" flaw

Angela Moscaritolo August 09, 2010

Foxit last week issued a patch for its free PDF reader to fix a vulnerability related to the recently released Apple jailbreak exploit. Foxit Reader 4.1.1.0805 fixes a flaw associated with the improper rendering of PDF documents that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code, according to an advisory issued by the US-CERT. The flaw also affects the PDF reader built into Apple's mobile operating system iOS, which is being used to jailbreak the latest version of the iPhone. Apple also has said it is working on a fix. — AM

Attackers likely to pounce on iOS flaws as Apple readies fix

Angela Moscaritolo August 05, 2010

Researchers are warning that attackers soon will exploit iOS vulnerabilities for malicious purposes.

Fake Angelina movies lead to malware via QuickTime

Angela Moscaritolo August 02, 2010

Researchers have discovered two movie files on file-sharing networks that are taking advantage of Apple's QuickTime Player to download malware from malicious websites. The .MOV files, both masquerading as the new Angelina Jolie film Salt, prompts a user to download a codec to view the video, Marco Dela Vega, threats researcher at Trend Micro, said in a blog post Friday. The files use a feature in QuickTime version 7.6.6 called wired actions, which allows files to take certain actions, such as visit a URL. The attack does not take advantage of a flaw but instead relies on social engineering to trick users into downloading the malware, Apple said, according to Trend. — AM

Safari update fixes auto-fill flaw ahead of Black Hat talk

Angela Moscaritolo July 28, 2010

Apple on Wednesday issued updates for its Safari 4 and 5 web browser to fix 15 vulnerabilities, some of which could lead to arbitrary code execution or information disclosure. Safari 5.0.1 and 4.1.1 fix an issue with the browser's auto-fill feature, which is used to automatically fill out web forms using information in a user's computer or address book. The flaw could allow a maliciously crafted website to trigger auto-fill without user interaction, potentially leading to information disclosure. The patch comes one day before Jeremiah Grossman, founder and CTO of WhiteHat Security, is set to present about the vulnerability at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas. The Safari updates also fix several flaws in WebKit, an open-source application framework. - AM

Citi urges iPhone app update due to data storage risk

Dan Kaplan July 26, 2010

The security of seemingly trusted mobile phone applications is being called into question after Citigroup urged customers to upgrade to a new version.

YouTube, iTunes hit in holiday attacks

Angela Moscaritolo July 06, 2010

Cybercriminals were out in full force over the Independence Day weekend, launching attacks on some of the world's most popular online destinations: YouTube and iTunes.

Third-party apps failing to use Windows security features

Angela Moscaritolo July 01, 2010

Many third-party Windows applications are failing to utilize two important security features that could prevent certain code execution attacks, according to a report released Thursday by Secunia.

Apple releases iOS 4 to fix dozens of bugs

Angela Moscaritolo June 22, 2010

Apple on Monday released version 4 of its mobile operating system iOS, formerly called iPhone OS, to fix 65 vulnerabilities. The bugs could allow an attacker to run arbitrary code on an affected device, conduct cross-site scripting attacks or obtain sensitive information, Apple said in a security advisory. iOS 4 is available for iPhone 3G and 3GS, along with second- and third-generation iPod Touch devices. Meanwhile, iPad users will have to wait until fall for the same update. — AM

Mac update plugs 28 flaws, does not include Flash 10.1

Dan Kaplan June 16, 2010

Apple has pushed out a Mac OS X update, its fourth of the year, to close more than two dozen vulnerabilities.

Newly issued Safari 5 closes dozens of holes

Angela Moscaritolo June 08, 2010

Apple on Monday issued Safari 5 and Safari 4.1 to close dozens of security vulnerabilities, some of which could allow an attacker to install malicious code on an affected system.

Experts react to Google's reported Windows phase-out

Dan Kaplan June 02, 2010

Many in the security community say Google would be wrong to base its decision to scale back internal Windows use over security concerns.

Apple updates Java for security bugs

Angela Moscaritolo May 19, 2010

Apple has released security updates for Java for Mac Leopard and Snow Leopard to close dozens of holes, the worst of which could lead to arbitrary code execution.

Critical zero-day flaw found in Apple's Safari browser

Angela Moscaritolo May 10, 2010

A "highly critical" zero-day vulnerability has been discovered in Apple's Safari web browser, according to Danish vulnerability tracking firm, Secunia.

Apple patches Mac researcher's contest find

Dan Kaplan April 15, 2010

Apple has delivered a Mac OS X security update to close a vulnerability revealed by researcher Charlie Miller at the recent Pwn2Own hacker contest in Vancouver, British Columbia. The update plugs a flaw that could be exploited to run malicious code if a user is tricked into into viewing or downloading a document that contains a specially crafted embedded font, according to an Apple advisory released Wednesday. The update is for Mac OS X 10.5.8 and 10.6.3. — DK

Apple pushes new QuickTime, iTunes

Dan Kaplan March 31, 2010

Apple on Tuesday released QuickTime 7.6.6 to resolve 12 vulnerabilities, all of which could lead to arbitrary code execution. In most cases, the vulnerabilities could be exploited if a user is tricked into viewing a malicious movie file. Eleven of the flaws impact Mac OS X, Windows 7, Vista and XP Service Pack 2. The other does not impact Macs. Also on Tuesday, Apple distributed iTunes 9.1 to close off seven holes. — DK