Windows 'Snake' Malware Ported to Mac, Imitates Adobe Flash Player Installer

Well-known Windows backdoor malware "Snake" has been ported to the Mac for the first time, according to MalwareBytes. Described as "highly-sophisticated," Snake (also called Turla and Uroburos) has been infecting Windows systems since 2008 and was ported to Linux systems in 2014 before making its way to the Mac.

The Snake malware was found earlier this week in an installer masquerading as Adobe Flash Player, buried inside a file named "Install Adobe Flash Player.app.zip." It is designed to look like a legitimate Adobe Flash installer, but is signed by an illegitimate certificate.

It does, actually, install Adobe Flash Player, but it is accompanied by additional software that is malicious and designed to provide a backdoor into the Mac. The malicious files are well hidden in the /Library/Scripts/ folder and disguised as an Adobe launch process.

In all, this is one of the sneakier bits of Mac malware lately. Although it's still "just a Trojan," it's a quite convincing one if distributed properly. Although Mac users tend to scoff at Trojans, believing them to be easy to avoid, this is not always the case.

Apple already revoked the certificate that the Snake malware was using to infect Mac machines, but another iteration could pop up, so Mac users should be aware of the possibility.

Those infected by Snake are vulnerable to having data stolen, including login information, passwords, and unencrypted files.

To avoid malicious software, Apple recommends downloading content only from the Mac App Store or from trusted developers.