Malware developers stopped creating malicious software targeting a Mac in 2020 compared to previous years, new data suggest.
Security researchers at AV-TEST GmbH recorded 674,273 new samples of macOS malware in 2020, according to an AtlasVPN study. The researchers found 56,556 samples in 2019 and 92,570 in 2018.
While the data only confirms that more specific malware samples have been identified, it does indicate that malware authors continue to turn their attention to the Mac. Between 2019 and 2020, malware sample identification rose 1,092%.
The 674,273 samples detected in 2020 far exceeds the 219,257 samples detected by AV-TEST GmbH between 2012 and 2019.
Of course, while the Mac malware threat is growing, it is still relatively small. AV-TEST GmbH suggests that 91.05 million samples of Windows malware were detected in 2020, the highest and an increase from 89.07 million in 2019.
Going by those numbers, it means that Windows malware authors have created an average of 249,452 new threats per day. On the other hand, Mac developers made about 1,847 malware threats per day.
According to AtlasVPN, one of the contributors to the rise in macOS development and Windows malware is the proliferation of ready-made code that can be easily designed for specific attacks.
A Malwarebytes report from February 2020 showed that the development of macOS malware threats outweighed the Windows threats. The report suggested that Macs is becoming a sweeter target for attackers due to increased market share.
Earlier in 2021, Malwarebytes released a separate report that showed that malware detections were down on both macOS and Windows in 2020 compared to previous years.
Apple is currently in the midst of moving its Mac lineup to proprietary Apple Silicon chips, which have a number of security and anti-malware benefits that Intel processors do not.
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