Increasing Threats Mean Apple Users ‘Can no Longer Be Complacent About Security,’ Symantec Says

Apple users “can no longer be complacent about security,” as the number of infections and new threats against Mac OS X and iOS devices rises sharply, said Dick O'Brien, senior information developer at cybersecurity firm Symantec, in a Tuesday blog post. Symantec estimates the number of new Mac OS X threats rose by 15 percent in 2014, and the number of iOS threats discovered this year has more than doubled since 2014, O’Brien said. The range of threats affecting Apple devices also has “multiplied,” he said. “These threats span from ordinary cybercrime gangs branching out and porting their threats to Apple platforms, right up to high level attacker groups developing custom Mac OS X and iOS malware.” Attackers targeting iOS devices “need to find a way to install malware” on an iPhone or iPad, “which can represent a significant hurdle,” he said. Many threats are installed when victims connect their devices to a “compromised” desktop computer, he said. “Jailbroken” devices, meaning iPhones that have had their iOS software restrictions removed, “present more opportunities for compromise and many threats are designed to take advantage of jailbroken phones,” he said.