Rise In Mac Malware Lead To Russia’s Alleged Manipulation On US Election – Apple Is Silent [REPORT]

The 2016 US election is by far the most controversial one most especially when several reports confirmed the intervention done by Russia to put Donald Trump into Presidency. A suspected Mac Malware called Xagent is created by APT 28, Russian cybercrime group for the said interference. However, many have been wondering why Apple is silent over the issue? Read more!

Apple's Weakened Defense

Apple's macOS has three main line for defense against threats - Gatekeeper, XProtect and System Integrity Protection. Gatekeeper works as the screener to prevent installation of unknown files from the internet, XProtect is the system's built-in antivirus software and System Integrity Protection is the highest level of control that restricts access to the root account.

However, these defenses have allegedly bypassed by hackers who have done a very good job when it comes to social engineering. According to Tom's Guide, social engineering strategy refers to the activities of the recent Mac Malware that deceives users to install free online software and pop-ads that scare them about being infected.

In 2016, there are four major Mac Malwares that reportedly bypassed Mac security system where two of them are both Mac encrypting ransomware hidden in the BitTorrent application transmission corrupted version. The third one masked as a document converter and the fourth one as a scareware product in a bundle.

Apple Is Silent Over Russia's Interference On US Election Through Xagent Malware

The concluded Presidential Election in the United States has been allegedly manipulated by Russia that led to the victory of Donald Trump. According to CNET, the Russian cybercrime group called APT 28 is held responsible for the hacking using their newest Malware, the Xagent.

The Romanian security software company Bitdefender explained how the Xagent get into the system. According to them, the Mac Malware has created backdoors into Macs where hackers are free to steal browser passwords and iPhone backups and grab screenshots without the user's knowledge.

In fact, Xagent was the alleged culprit of the leaked emails of John Podesta, Hillary Clinton's adviser. The traces left by APT28 were identified in the report of FBI and Department of Homeland Security last December 2016.