Researchers at ESET, a popular cyber security software, discovered the Elmedia Player download has been laced with Proton malware software and has compromised several Mac devices. Although Apple has made repeated claims to their devices being the most secure on the market, apparently, that is not the case.
Experts have made a statement claiming anyone who downloaded and installed the Elmedia Player before 3:15pm EDT on October 19th, 2017, are highly likely to have been infected with the Proton malware. It is critical that infected users take immediate action to remedy their devices because this particular malware is designed to steal the user’s information.
Cyber attacks that steal sensitive information cause a variety of problems including theft of the user’s funds, log in information, and even media on the device that could be used against the owner. The Proton malware in the Elmedia Player doesn’t set off any security protocols the Apple user has in place, which is a rare thing indeed.
Fortunately, the company providing the software, Eltima, announced the infection publicly and have already fixed the downloads. They have also reported the specific directories that will be present on infected Apple devices that is as follows: /Library/.rand/updateragent.app/ is one directory and /tmp/Updater.app/,/Library/LaunchAgents/com.Eltima.UpdaterAgent.plist,/Library/.rand/ is another.
Eltima also stated that the malware doesn’t affect the player’s ability to update so the problem can be easily fixed by updating with the now available clean download. Researchers continue to investigate this latest breach in order to prevent a similar future attack.
Cyber attacks can occur in many forms and while most companies work tirelessly to prevent such attacks, it’s not always possible to do so. Keep your security software updated often so that your devices will be able to defend against recent breaches with provided patches and available solutions.
