The malware called ‘Silver Sparrow’ comes with a tool for self-destruction, a capability that is usually reserved for high-stealth work.
“So far, however, there are no indications that the self-destruct feature has been used, raising the question of why the equipment is there,” Ars Technica first reported on the presence of cargo -rase malware security.
The lack of a final payment burden suggests that the malware could start taking action at any time.
The malware has been found in 153 countries with heavy reporting in the US, UK, Canada, France and Germany.
Silver Sparrow is an action group that includes binary put together to run on Apple’s new M1 slots but it doesn’t have one very important feature: payload.
“While we have not yet seen Silver Sparrow deliver additional malicious payloads, the forward-looking M1 chip compatibility, global reach, high infectivity level, and operational maturity show that Silver Sparrow is a real threat, “said researchers from cyber security firm Canary Red.
The malware is in a unique position to immediately deliver a potentially effective payment burden.
Silver Sparrow comes in two versions one with a binary in mach-object format compiled for Intel x86_64 processors and the other binary Mach-O for the M1.
Researchers have earlier warned that Apple’s move from Intel to its own silicon M1 chip could make it easy for hackers to install malware.
“For me, the most famous thing [thing] and that it was found on nearly 30K macOS endpoints … and these are just endpoints that the MalwareBytes can see, so the number is likely to be much higher, “said Patrick Wardle, macOS security expert.