Apple Employees' Macs Compromised by Chinese Hackers

ApplelogoA number of Macs owned by Apple employees were compromised by the same China-based hackers that targeted Facebook employees recently, reports All Things D. The malware entered the systems through the Java plug-in, which Apple has blocked recently due to unpatched security vulnerabilities. Reuters was the first to report the disclosure.

“Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers,” the company said in a statement to AllThingsD. “The malware was employed in an attack against Apple and other companies, and was spread through a website for software developers. We identified a small number of systems within Apple that were infected and isolated them from our network. There is no evidence that any data left Apple. We are working closely with law enforcement to find the source of the malware.”

Apple will also be releasing a standalone malware removal tool to clean infected machines.

The New York Times published an article yesterday laying out how a number of recent hacking attacks against U.S. corporations could be linked to the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

Macs have traditionally been viewed as significantly more secure than Windows machines, though in the past year there have been a number of compromised machines from the Flashback malware and issues with Java.

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Top Rated Comments

gmanist1000 Avatar
162 months ago
Mac's are unhackable they say. Mac's don't break they say. Windows computers are the only one to get hacked they say.

Is that what they say?
Score: 20 Votes (Like | Disagree)
zin Avatar
162 months ago
Why doesn't the Chinese Government have any meaningful actions to combat this? It was Google several months back, then Facebook, and now Apple.

Unless of course the Chinese Government are the ones that hired the 'hackers' so as to steal intellectual property...
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
KPOM Avatar
162 months ago
Why doesn't the Chinese Government have any meaningful actions to combat this? It was Google several months back, then Facebook, and now Apple.

Unless of course the Chinese Government are the ones that hired the 'hackers' so as to steal intellectual property...

I'm guessing its the latter. China plays by its own rules.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
knightlie Avatar
162 months ago
Mac's are unhackable they say. Mac's don't break they say. Windows computers are the only one to get hacked they say.

The weakness is Java, not OS X. But then you don't really care, do you?


If it weren't for Minecraft I would have deleted Java long ago, it's not worth the risk any more.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hakone Avatar
162 months ago
What a way to ring in the new lunar new year than to go on a hacking spree.

Samsung to the PLA: "Hi guys, wanna have lunch?"
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M-O Avatar
162 months ago
it was the iTunes for Windows team. they were all running bootcamp.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)