In a recent article, we reflected on the top security and privacy news that impacted the Apple ecosystem in 2024. Today, it’s time to review the most notable Mac malware and iPhone malware campaigns of the past year—and even what could be considered the first Apple Vision Pro malware. We’ll also forecast what we can expect to see more of in 2025.
In this article:
Following are some notable events in macOS, iOS, and visionOS malware in 2024, broken down by month.
It’s important to note that the list above is just a small sampling of notable Apple malware that was reported publicly. Each month, Intego discovers and adds new detection for many, many new malware variants besides those that happen to get public write-ups.
Given the continued rise in stealer malware in 2024, and the lack of mitigations for such threats, we expect this trend to continue well into 2025. Evidently, this malware is profitable enough for malware developers that they have increasingly focused their efforts on it, more than other types of malware.
As we recommended last year, browser makers should work together to identify better ways to safeguard browser data on the client side. And more importantly, Internet standards bodies should work with providers of Web services to validate that authentication cookies have not been stolen from a victim and reused by an attacker.
Due to the lack of changes recently to Apple’s app review and vetting processes, we fully expect to continue to see more fraud apps in the App Store. A recent development is that iPhone and iPad apps may be distributed outside of the App Store in the EU, in order for Apple to comply with the Digital Markets Act (DMA); this means that sideloaded apps, and apps obtained through third-party app stores, could potentially also be a new threat vector through which PUA or malware could make its way onto iPhones and iPads.
Each year we continue to see more macOS and iOS malware written by sophisticated and well-funded attack groups. And in 2024, there were once again reports about APT malware being discovered on targeted Apple users’ devices. We fully anticipate observing more Mac-targeted and iPhone-targeted APT malware surfacing throughout 2025.
If you believe your Mac may be infected, or to prevent future infections, it’s best to use antivirus software from a trusted Mac developer. VirusBarrier is award-winning antivirus software, designed by Mac security experts, that includes real-time protection. It runs natively on both Intel- and Apple silicon-based Macs, and it’s compatible with Apple’s current Mac operating system, macOS Sonoma.
If you use a Windows PC, Intego Antivirus for Windows can keep your computer protected from malware.
We discussed this topic on episode 378 of the Intego Mac Podcast.
For additional details about some of the Mac malware of 2024, you can read Patrick Wardle’s write-up.
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