ESET warns Mac OS X users of Bitcoin-stealing trojan
View(s):Users of the Mac operating system (OS) X are being targetted by a Bitcoin-stealing malware (virus) spread by way of pirated applications (apps), according to a recent blog post by Graham Cluley, a security researcher at antivirus developer ESET.
Quoted in a statement, the blog post stated; “The hackers behind the CoinThief trojan are trying to cash in on the current Bitcoin craze and fluctuating exchange rates by breaking into users’ digital wallets… As ESET’s research team has shown, mac users who download and install pirated software from torrent sites are not only depriving developers of their rightful income, but putting their computers and finances at risk”.
The statement also noted; “The OSX/CoinThief trojan infects computers running Mac OS X, stealing login credentials related to various Bitcoin exchanges and wallet sites by installing malicious browser add-ons… ESET malware experts have revealed that CoinThief is now being spread via P2P file-sharing networks, disguised as cracked versions of the following popular Mac OS X applications: BBEdit – an OS X text editor; Pixelmator – a graphics editor; Angry Birds – a game of trebuchet-powered temperamental avian bombardment; and Delicious Library – a media cataloguing application”.
Further, it was also revealed that “[according] to detection statistics gathered by the ESET LiveGrid, the threat is mostly active amongst Mac users based in the United States… CoinThief was first spotted earlier this month by SecureMac researchers, who found it had been distributed via popular download sites such as Download.com and MacUpdate.com, disguised as trojanised versions of Bitcoin Ticker TTM (To The Moon), BitVanity, StealthBit and Litecoin Ticker”.
(JH)