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Kaspersky analyzing Mac OS X security at Apple’s request

Following a breakout of malware on Mac OS X that some experts estimated could have infected up to 600,000 Macs, research firm Kaspersky made claims late last month that Apple was 10 years behind Microsoft in terms of security, while claiming roughly 140,000 Macs were still infected. Today, Kaspersky CTO Nikolai Grebennikov confirmed with Computing that the company has begun researching the security of OS X at Apple’s request:

“Mac OS is really vulnerable… and Apple recently invited us to improve its security. We’ve begun an analysis of its vulnerabilities, and the malware targeting it… Our first investigations show Apple doesn’t pay enough attention to security. For example, Oracle closed a vulnerability in Java, which was a target for a major botnet several months ago… Apple blocked Oracle from updating Java on Mac OS, and they perform all the updates themselves. They only released the patch a few weeks ago – two or three months after the Oracle patch. That’s far too long… This botnet, which the security community identified, is a huge sign that Apple’s security model isn’t perfect…  

Grebennikov continued by claiming he expects to see similar issues with malware making its way to iOS devices over the coming year; although, none has been discovered:

“Our experience tells us that in the near future, perhaps in a year or so, we will see the first malware targeting iOS.”

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Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.