Ransomware Attacks Surge 500% on Apple Operating Systems

More news from some of the national services. Many people operate under the assumption that Apple Mac OSX cannot be affected by malware and randsomware attacks. This simply is not true. Apple Macs make up less than 10% of the overall desktop operating systems used so they have been targeted less in the past. That is changing as hackers are catching on to the fact that these users feel they are safe, and do not use the protections most PC users do. Thanks to the team at Knowbe4.com for bringing this issue up to the community:

This staggering growth in attacks on the MacOS signals that Macs are no longer safe.

We’ve all heard it from one or more users: “I run a Mac – they don’t get viruses.” The same has been said about iOS devices due to their locked down architecture.

In some ways, the statements used to be true; in previous years, malware creators were looking to do the most damage possible, and so choosing Windows, still the most common-used business operating system made sense.

But today, the focus for cybercriminals is targeted attacks on specific industries, companies, and job titles, leveraging social engineering tactics, all in the name of gaining enough trust, access, or intel to steal data or money. But in the case of ransomware specifically, to accomplish this criminal organizations need OS-specific ransomware.

That means today Macs and iOS devices are targets too.

According to backup provider Datto’s State of the Channel: Ransomware Report, 9% of MSPs have seen ransomware on both MacOS and iOS devices. This is a 500% increase from last year. The increase indicates that every operating system is susceptible to attack.

And most organizations have a group of users that use Macs, usually the creative types. So, it’s official – all of your users, regardless of operating system, are potential targets of ransomware. Blog post with links:
https://blog.knowbe4.com/new-study-ransomware-attacks-surge-500-on-apple-operating-systems