Pieces of fresh Mac malware increased significantly in 2011, further debunking the myth that cyber criminals are not turning their attention to Apple machines.
There were 58 new Mac threats between April and December 2011, F-Secure analysis found.
"That's nothing when compared to Windows malware - but it's definitely something when compared to the number of Mac threats seen prior to 2011," F-Secure said in a blog post.
Most of the new Mac threats were Trojan-downloaders, with 29 appearing over the nine month period.
Backdoors came in second on 15, with Trojans and rogue AV taking seven each.
"Mac malware has not scaled continuously due to market share, but rather, is more the result of opportunist 'bubble economies' that have produced new threats in fits and starts," F-Secure added.
"We expect more of the same for 2012."
Security professionals believe Mac malware will increase again this year, as awareness amongst users is growing.
"Fortunately enough, it seems that Mac users are now more aware that Mac is not immune to malware attacks and they are increasingly using antivirus programs, hindering cyber-crooks," said Luis Corrons, technical director of PandaLabs, in a blog post.
"The number of malware specimens for Mac will continue to grow in 2012, although much less than for PCs."
-
Google says reports of a 'huge' Gmail breach affecting millions of users are false, againNews Reports of a major Gmail affecting millions of users have been flooding the web this week – Google says they're "false" and you've nothing to worry about.
-
The business guide to Windows 11In-depth As Windows 10's mainstream support ends, it's time for businesses who have yet to upgrade to take a second look at Windows 11
-
Okta and Palo Alto Networks are teaming up to ‘fight AI with AI’News The expanded partnership aims to help shore up identity security as attackers increasingly target user credentials
-
Scania admits leak of data after extortion attemptNews Hacker stole 34,000 files from a third-party managed website, trucking company says
-
Capita tells pension provider to 'assume' nearly 500,000 customers' data stolenCapita told the pension provider to “work on the assumption” that data had been stolen
-
Sophos XGS 116 review: A small and mighty applianceReviews This clever and compact security gateway brings outstanding security and remote management features at a tempting price
-
WatchGuard Firebox M290 review: Stiff security at a great priceReviews The Firebox M290 delivers an incredible range of gateway security measures priced right for SMBs
-
Sophos XGS 3300 review: Xstream firewall performanceReviews A powerful firewall appliance combining hardware acceleration with a vast array of security measures
-
Gumtree site code made personal data of users and sellers publicly accessibleNews Anyone could scan the website's HTML code to reveal personal information belonging to users of the popular second-hand classified adverts website
-
Pizza chain exposed 100,000 employees' Social Security numbersNews Former and current staff at California Pizza Kitchen potentially burned by hackers
