Intel, the end of Mac security?

[nihil]

Hi johnny~

I would like to add, are there many ASM based vulnerabilities that are intended for Intel, and therefore Apple's switch means a less secure platform?

1. They are not "vulnerabilities" as such. Vulnerabilities belong to the operating system and applications that you run.

2. Yes there is a lot of ASM malware that would only run in an intel/windows environment. However it is all very old, and Apple are retaining their operating system. I would say there is nothing to worry about.

The two dangers are that Apples suddenly become very cheap (which I doubt) and the market gets flooded with them

There is a very slight possibility that it might making cross-platform viruses slightly easier to write, but I don't really believe this, as I am sure Apple will get Intel to build the chips to their specification. I am also sure that they will use their own microcode, which is what matters.

[Arjun Bohra]

Mac is having there own operating system i dnt think they require any thing but may be they switch in future. it is the only thing which make apple make different from others.

[@ZabkaZab]

Is anyone aware how to get rid of macOS malware with bootloader feature?

The name of the RAT is still unknown.

Device Type: MacBook Pro M1 Silicon.

Some videos with RAT behaviour is listed hereunder:

https://youtu.be/_xvCSeQ7eig

https://youtu.be/iFBbuT--1D8

https://youtu.be/qGSM3Eio5S0

Some screenshots with RAT behaviour is uploaded in here:

https://mega.nz/folder/bHZijDqC#B5uI3HsQ1P0_f9TouUPMxg

[Harris Washington]

I think that this "Mac security" thing is a myth. They are not intrinsically more secure, it is just that there are fewer of them, so it is "security through obscurity" which cannot be relied upon.

The processor has nothing to do with security, as already stated, unless the malware is ASM based, in which case some will not run on some processors.

I think that we have to see what kind of market penetration it achieves? If there is a significant increase in machines that solely boot Mac OS then that will decrease the obscurity factor. However, I suspect that a lot will dual boot, which would suggest that the traditional Windows attack vectors will continue to be used.

I really don't anticipate a massive shift to PCs running the Mac OS as it is not significantly cheaper than Windows. I really think that if OS cost is the factor people would go for Linux.

Anyway, the real reason for the price difference between an Apple and a PC is Apple's pricing and marketing policy. They could actually do themselves some serious damage with this venture?

MacOS security is often perceived as a myth and relies on "security through obscurity," as there are fewer Mac devices compared to Windows PCs. However, a significant increase in Mac-only machines could decrease this obscurity factor. The processor has no direct impact on security, except in cases where malware is ASM-based. The cost difference between Apple and PC devices is due to Apple's pricing and marketing policy, not the operating system. If cost was the primary factor, people might opt for Linux rather than MacOS.

[Steve R Jones]

Harris Washington - did you happen to notice that this thread was started in 2005 ??