Russian Hackers Have A New Tool That Can Give Full Access To Macs, Up For Sale For $60K

Russian hackers reportedly have a new tool that can give full access to all the contents on Apple Inc.'s AAPL MacBooks, iMacs and other Mac devices.

What Happened: Russian hackers have developed a new tool called Hidden Virtual Network Computer (VNC) that can give attackers complete access to Mac computers, allowing them to steal personal data and login credentials, said cybersecurity firm Guardz.

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"Guardz CIR team delved into the prominent Russian cybercrime forum "Exploit." Our team discovered another tool available since April 2023, specifically targeting macOS devices owned by small and medium enterprises," the firm said.

The Hidden VNC tool runs without requesting any permissions and does so silently. It also supports persistence, meaning it can survive reboots and attempts to remove them. It also has a remote file manager that lets attackers steal data without the user noticing it.

Russian hackers are demanding $60,000 for a lifetime license to the Hidden VNC tool and a $20,000 add-on that adds even more malicious capabilities.

Weaponizing Remote Support Tech: Russian hackers have weaponized a legitimate technology that provides remote technical support. Imagine using software like TeamViewer or AnyDesk to access another computer. Hackers misused this technology for nefarious purposes.

When a user is attacked using Hidden VNC, there's nothing that can make them aware of the fact. This makes the attack successful, and the Russian hackers are so confident that they've put $100,000 in an escrow to build trust.

The malicious tool also weighs between just 30MB to 100MB, which is very lightweight by today's standards.

To remain protected, ensure you are running the latest version of macOS, which is currently 13.4.1. The tool supports macOS Ventura up to version 13.2.

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