Apple Users Face Threat From Social Engineering Malware

This attack, known as Infinit Stealer, uses social engineering tactics and is difficult to detect once its payload is delivered, Mashable reported Monday (March 30).

The report, citing information from cybersecurity company Malwarebytes, says the attacks begin with a social engineering technique called ClickFix, which tricks users into executing malicious code on their computer.

The target is presented with a website, often via a phishing email or a pop-up on a compromised page, with an urgent update warning claiming that the user needs to fill in a Cloudflare human verification captcha, complete with the standard “I am not a robot” box.

However, the user is also asked to carry out a “manual step,” with the page telling them to go to Spotlight on their Mac, search for the Terminal app and enter a provided code, which delivers Infiniti Stealer to the target’s Mac upon execution.

“Because the user runs the command directly, many traditional defenses are bypassed,” Malwarebytes says in its report. “There’s no exploit, no malicious attachment and no drive‑by download.”

Mac users who think they may have been infected with malware are advised to stop using the affected computer, change their account passwords on a completely separate device and, when possible, revoke access from the infected computer, the report added.

Writing about the cybersecurity landscape last week, PYMNTS noted that despite advances like automation, zero-trust architectures and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven detection, the human element could be becoming the most exploitable vulnerability in defense systems.

“After all, unlike software, humans cannot be updated with a security patch. They operate under fluctuating conditions like fatigue, urgency and distraction that attackers are becoming adept at exploiting,” that report said.

A recent report from Google Threat Intelligence underlined the growing scale of the problem, pointing out how adversaries design their tactics to fit these conditions, creating messages that mimic internal communications, exploit authority hierarchies or establish artificial time pressure.

Among the biggest paradoxes for security leaders is that, in many cases, the sturdier the technical perimeter becomes, the more attractive human targets ultimately are.

“For CFOs in particular, this translates into a different kind of risk exposure. Financial workflows such as invoice approvals, wire transfers and vendor onboarding are particularly susceptible to social engineering,” the report added. “A single compromised decision can result in material loss, often with limited recourse.”