Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • IT Management
    • PC Hardware
    • Storage

    Mac Flashback Attack Started With Compromised WordPress Blogs

    Written by

    Jeff Burt
    Published April 21, 2012
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      The Flashback malware that eventually infected more than 600,000 Macs worldwide probably started from tens of thousands of WordPress blog sites that had been hacked into and compromised, according to researchers at Kaspersky Lab.

      In March, the malware creators changed the way they wanted the Flashback exploit to spread, moving it from a Trojan horse that enticed users to click on it by masquerading as an Adobe update to a drive-by attack that infected the systems of users who clicked on compromised or malicious Websites, according to Alexander Gostev, head of the global research and analysis team at Kaspersky.

      In a post on Kaspersky€™s SecureList blog, Gostev said that sometime around the end of February and the beginning of March, €œtens of thousands of sites powered by WordPress were compromised. How this happened is unclear. The main theories are that bloggers were using a vulnerable version of WordPress or they had installed the ToolsPack plug-in.€

      Websense officials in March reported that ToolsPack was a rogue WordPress plug-in that worked as a backdoor that gave the malware writers access to the system.

      Estimates of compromised WordPress sites ranged from 30,000 to almost 100,000, with 85 percent located in the United States, he said.

      Essentially, the compromised WordPress blogs contained code that silently redirected users who had clicked on the blog to another site, Gostev said. The malicious site determined key attributes of the users€™ systems, including the operating system and browser version running on the machine. That information was sent to another server, which then sent the appropriate malware for the system€™s operating environment.

      For Mac users, that malware was Flashback€”or what Kaspersky called FlashFake€”he said.

      The situation was made even more dangerous for Mac users because of Apple€™s slow response to patching the vulnerability in Java that enables the attack, Gostev said. Security researchers first detected the use of exploits to distribute Flashback in February€”such exploits date back to 2008 and 2011€”and the vulnerability was first reported in March. Oracle had issued a patch for the exploit in February, but users whose systems ran Mac OS X were still vulnerable.

      €œThis was because Apple never uses patches from Oracle and creates its own patches to close Java vulnerabilities,€ he wrote. €œThe [Apple] patch for Mac OS X which closed the €¦ vulnerability was released in early April.€

      Such a two-month delay is normal for Apple, Gostev said, pointing to two other instances in 2009 and 2011 when Apple waited a month or two after Oracle issued a patch to release one of its own.

      Since reaching a high of more than 600,000 infected Macs€”more than 1 percent of all Macs worldwide€”earlier this month, the number of infected systems has declined. Symantec officials this week said the number had fallen to 140,000, though they warned it was leveling off. Kaspersky researchers said their €œsinkhole€ operation€”designed to reduce the spread of malware and monitor it€”show just more than 30,000 infections.

      Flashback was the latest in a growing string of attacks aimed at Apple systems running Mac OS X, and security experts have predicted the number of attacks will continue to rise as the popularity of these Apple systems€”not only Macs, but also iPads and iPhones€”grow.

      €œIn 2011, Apple was estimated to account for over 5 pecent of worldwide desktop/laptop market share,€ Kaspersky Lab expert Kurt Baumgartner said in an April 19 blog post. €œThis barrier was a significant one to break€”Linux maintains under 2 percent market share and Google Chrome OS even less. This 15-year peak coincided with the first exploration by the aggressive FakeAV/Rogueware market targeting Apple computers €¦ which no longer seems to be such an odd coincidence.€

      Jeff Burt
      Jeff Burt
      Jeffrey Burt has been with eWEEK since 2000, covering an array of areas that includes servers, networking, PCs, processors, converged infrastructure, unified communications and the Internet of things.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.