“Hackers can crack the phone’s security when it connects to an unsecured Bluetooth network.”
Other methods are so sophisticated that attackers do not even need to fraudulently force the user to click on a malicious link. Hackers can crack the phone’s security when it connects to an unsecured Bluetooth network. They can create a connection that disguises itself as a trusted network or a mobile operator relay tower to intercept text messages or login session data. If you left an unlocked phone in a public place, the hacker will not steal it, but will copy the SIM card, thus obtaining the keys to all your data.
Hacker attacks on Mac devices
Even if you tend to think that hacker attacks are a problem only in the Windows environment, we hasten to upset you: users of Mac devices also do not have one hundred percent immunity.
For example, in 2017, a phishing campaign affected many Mac users – mainly in Europe. The catalyst for the attacks was a Trojan program that penetrated the system along with a verified Apple developer certificate and fished out user credentials, displaying a full-screen notification of an important OS X system update that allegedly needed to be urgently installed. If successful, the attackers gained full access to all the victim’s communication channels, and with it the ability to intercept information about Internet activity even when using the secure HTTPS protocol.
In addition, Mac computers are susceptible to attacks using social engineering methods, as well as exploiting vulnerabilities of imperfect hardware. According to The Guardian, at the beginning of 2018, such attacks on Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities found in the architecture of microprocessors were widely publicized. Apple responded to the attacks by developing special means of protection, while at the same time recommending that customers download iOS software only from a trusted source – the App Store, in order to prevent hackers from exploiting processor vulnerabilities.
The next threat was the insidious Calisto program, which is a variant of the Proton malicious object for Mac systems. For two years, it was freely distributed online until it was discovered in July 2018. This Trojan program was hidden in a fake installer of a cyber defense tool for Mac computers. It performed many functions, among which a special place was occupied by the collection of usernames and passwords.
Thus, hackers have a wide range of threat tools – from viruses and malware to special programs that use errors in the protection system – and actively use all these tools to penetrate Mac computers. You can find information about recent hacker attacks documented by employees of our Malwarebytes Labs resource here.