IT Security Stories to Watch: JPMorgan Cyber Attack, Mac OS X Threat

Welcome to October, aka National Cyber Security Awareness Month! We’re only six days into the month, but there’s already plenty to report on the IT security news front.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the Mac.BackDoor.iWorm threat and the FBI are three of the biggest IT security newsmakers this week. Managed service providers (MSPs), meanwhile, can learn from these newsmakers and take the necessary steps to keep their customers informed and their data secured.

1. JPMorgan cyber attack may affect 76 million households

JPMorgan last week reported an August cyber attack against the multinational banking and financial services holding company may have impacted 76 million households and 7 million small businesses.

The financial services giant told customers that there was no evidence their account numbers, passwords, user IDs, dates of birth or Social Security numbers were compromised.

JPMorgan noted, however, that customers’ contact information — name, address, phone number and email address — was compromised. 

“Attacks like these are frustrating,” JPMorgan said. “There are always lessons to be learned, and we will learn from this one and use that knowledge to make our defenses even stronger.”

2. Dr. Web researchers discover Mac.BackDoor.iWorm

Russian IT security solutions vendor Dr. Web last week released details about Mac.BackDoor.iWorm, a threat that could affect computers running Mac OS X.

“When Mac.BackDoor.iWorm is initially launched, it saves its configuration data in a separate file and tries to read the contents of the /Library directory to determine which of the installed applications the malware won’t be interacting with. If ‘unwanted’ directories can’t be found, the bot uses system queries to determine the home directory of the Mac OS X account under which it is running, checks the availability of its configuration file in the directory and writes the data needed for it to continue to operate into the file,” Dr. Web wrote in a blog post. “Mac.BackDoor.iWorm is able to perform two types of commands: different directives depending on the binary data provided and Lua scripts.”

The Mac.BackDoor.iWorm botnet could affect over 17,000 Macs worldwide, according to Dr. Web.

Apple (AAPL) today announced it has updated its malware blacklisting system, XProtect, to block the Mac.BackDoor.iWorm threat.

3. FBI will offer its Malware Investigator portal to businesses

The FBI plans to make its Malware Investigator portal available to more people than ever before.

Malware Investigator “is a tool that provides users the ability to submit suspected malware files, and within as little as an hour, receive detailed technical information about what the malware does and what it may be targeting,” according to the FBI.

ZDNet points out the standard Malware Investigator portal is currently available to law enforcement, and another portal for researchers, businesses and academics will soon be available.

4. Kaspersky: One out of every five Android device users faces cyber attacks

A new Kaspersky Lab and INTERPOL survey revealed one out of every five Android device users was victimized by cyber attackers.

The Kaspersky and INTERPOL “Mobile cyber threats” survey also showed 1 million Android device users worldwide encountered dangerous software between Aug. 2013 and July 2014.

“We often hear experts saying that Android users have nothing to worry about, that although malicious programs for this system appear regularly, the number of attacks is not significant. Until recently, that could be regarded as a fair comment. However, the situation has changed dramatically over the last year — and not for the better,” Roman Unuchek, Kaspersky’s senior virus analyst, said in a prepared statement.

What do you think will be the biggest IT security stories for MSPs this week? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below, via Twitter @dkobialka or email me at [email protected].