The question of Mac malware and its proliferation is a contentious discussion on the internetz, but it doesn’t help much when there’s a lack of honesty. Security software company Kapersky raised the alarm by telling us that Apple invited them to Cupertino to meet with them and discuss how to strengthen the Mac’s security… but they weren’t exactly being honest. Or, more fairly, it sounds like someone wasn’t.
At first, the British site called Computing said Kapersky claimed that Apple asked them to go to the Cupertino campus, but they later re-framed the comment as being “out of context”. Here’s the whopping statement from Engadget:
On Monday, April 14, computing.co.uk published an article titled “Apple OS ‘really vulnerable’ claims Kaspersky Lab CTO” that includes an inaccurate quote regarding Apple and Kaspersky Lab. The article reports that Kaspersky Lab had “begun the process of analyzing the Mac OS platform at Apple’s request” to identify vulnerabilities. This statement was taken out of context by the magazine – Apple did not invite or solicit Kaspersky Lab’s assistance in analyzing the Mac OS X platform. Kaspersky Lab has contacted computing.co.uk to correct its article.
Please refer to the statement below from Nikolay Grebennikov, Chief Technology Officer, Kaspersky Lab, which clarifies this misrepresentation:
“As Mac OS X market share continues to increase, we expect cyber-criminals to continue to develop new types of malware and attack methods. In order to meet these new threats, Kaspersky Lab has been conducting an in-depth analysis of Mac OS X vulnerabilities and new forms of malware.
This security analysis of Mac OS X was conducted independently of Apple; however, Apple is open to collaborating with us regarding new Mac OS X vulnerabilities and malware that we identify during our analysis. Kaspersky Lab is committed to providing the highest level of security for all of our customers, including Mac OS X, and we will continue to enhance our technologies in order to meet the ever-changing threat landscape. “
Was it Kaspersky who misled the media? Was it an over-zealous website that published something it knew was wrong? Was it all just a misunderstanding? We might never know, but we at least we know that Apple isn’t so worried about security that they’ve invited this particular company to their campus… so that might come as a relief to those who worry about Mac OS X security.
Source: Engadget
