Apple computers hit by virus for the first time: files encrypted and a ransom of 1 Bitcoin demanded

In the eyes of many consumers, Apple's Mac OS X system is safer than Microsoft's Windows system. When Apple users download and install software, they don't have to worry about these software carrying malicious viruses, which will threaten their computers and data. Researchers from computer security company Palo Alto Networks said that three days ago, Apple's Mac OS X system platform was first attacked by the ransomware virus Keranger.
Files will be encrypted, ransom 1 Bitcoin

Malicious processes in System Monitor on an infected Mac
On March 4 (last Friday), the ransomware KeRanger infected the latest version of the open source software website Transmission, which is a very popular download tool that provides a large number of software (applications), videos, music or other data. Once Mac users download the software from this version of the website and install it on their computers, KeRanger will lurk in the computer for 3 days, then encrypt the files and data in the computer and ask the owner to pay a ransom of 1 Bitcoin to obtain the electronic key. Bitcoin is a P2P form of digital currency that is usually difficult to track. At the current exchange rate, 1 Bitcoin is equivalent to about RMB 2,600.
Ryan Olson, director of threat intelligence at Palo Alto Networks, confirmed the above information in a telephone interview with Reuters. KeRanger became the first virus to successfully bypass Apple's computer protection system.
An Apple representative said over the weekend that the company has taken steps to prevent software carrying malicious ransomware from being installed on Apple computers, thereby preventing the digital certificates of legitimate Apple developers from being compromised. Among them, an Apple developer's digital certificate allowed the ransomware to be installed on Apple computers, and Apple has revoked this digital certificate. But the representative said that he could not immediately provide other details.
However, according to Olson, KeRanger's incubation period on infected computers is three days, which means that if Apple's measures to deal with the keranger ransomware prove ineffective, the computer files of the earliest batch of affected Mac users will be encrypted and blocked on Monday.
Ransomware is growing rapidly, and Apple will be challenged

Transmission 2.91 new version after Mac platform upgrade
On the 6th, Transmission issued a warning message saying that the Transmission 2.90 client version for the Mac platform was also infected with ransomware, and recommended that users quickly upgrade to the new version 2.91. The new version has deleted the malicious code and is available for download. People related to the Transmission website have not yet commented on how the platform caused the ransomware to spread.
According to the report given by Palo Alto Networks, if the Mac user's system monitor has processes named "kernel_service", "kernel_pid", "kernel_time", "kernel_complete", "kernel_service" and similar processes, it is possible that they have been infected.
Olson also said Palo Alto Networks is planning to launch a blog page advising Mac users to use the methods they provide to detect whether their devices are infected with viruses and take steps to prevent data from being attacked.
Security reports from Symantec and Intel both point out that the number of ransomware attacks carried out through networks, software viruses, etc. has been growing rapidly in recent years. The rapidly developing malicious ransomware exploits computer vulnerabilities to hijack data. The attacker encrypts the victim's data and requires the victim to pay for the decryption key. Security experts estimate that the total amount of ransom illegally obtained by attackers through similar software reaches hundreds of millions of dollars each year, and Microsoft Windows operating system users are usually the targets of such malware.
Some analysts say that the reason why Apple's Mac system has always given people the impression of being highly secure is mainly because the number of its users is limited and hackers have not set their sights on this area. However, as the number of Mac users increases day by day, more hackers will pay attention to the Mac system in the future, and the security of Apple computers will be further challenged. In 2016, Apple Mac users need to beware of ransomware attacks.