Apple introduced its new processor M1 in recent months. M1, the first computer processor with a 5 nm architecture, remained on the agenda with its high performance for a long time. Now we are facing a completely different agenda; malware targeting thousands of M1 Processors Macs users.
Last week, Apple security researcher Patrick Wardle detected the first malware targeting M1 Processors Macs. This malware GoSearch22, encountered by users as an extension of Safari, collects user data and it is hard to detect by antivirus software, as it is a fairly new threat to software with M1 Processors Macs.
While users were just looking for ways to get rid of GoSearch22, a new piece of malware, discovered by cybersecurity firm Red Canary; Silver Sparrow. Although what makes Silver Sparrow dangerous and the damage it causes is not yet clear; its rapid spreading poses a great risk, according to cybersecurity experts. According to the data obtained, Silver Sparrow has infected 29,139 macOS systems in 153 countries, including the USA, UK, Canada, France, and Germany, as of February 17. The information about how many of these systems are M1 Processors Macs has not been shared yet.
According to Red Canary‘s statement regarding Silver Sparrow, it is a very serious threat. The reason for this was stated as the adaptation process to M1 Processors Macs. Being a global and rapidly spreading malware. Again, Red Canary reported that although there is no way to directly detect Silver Sparrow; some methods used to detect various macOS threats may work. Also, don’t forget to check out our other news here.
