Picus Security’s latest research [1] [2], The Blue Report 2024 [1] [3] [4], sheds light on the vulnerability of macOS endpoints in cybersecurity defenses.
Description
The study reveals that macOS systems are significantly more vulnerable to cyber attacks, with only 23% of attacks being prevented compared to over 60% on Windows and Linux. Furthermore, 40% of environments have vulnerabilities that could potentially allow attackers to gain domain admin privileges, posing a serious threat to network security. Weaknesses in environments can enable attackers to achieve domain admin privileges [3], leading to potential data exfiltration [3], malware deployment [3], or business disruption [3]. Commonly used easily crackable passwords [3], with 25% using dictionary words [3], further exacerbate the risk. Data exfiltration techniques are only prevented by 9% of organizations [3]. Notably, BlackByte [1] [3] [4], BabLock [1] [3] [4], and Hive are identified as the most challenging ransomware groups for organizations to defend against [1].
Conclusion
This underscores the critical need for organizations to allocate more resources to protect macOS environments and enhance security controls to effectively mitigate cyber threats. Failure to address these vulnerabilities could have severe consequences for network security and data protection.
References
[1] https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/one-10-attacks-detected-security/
[2] https://www.picussecurity.com/resource/blog/blue-report-2024-reveals-40-percent-of-environments-exposed-to-full-take-over
[3] https://www.picussecurity.com/resource/press-release/40-percent-environments-vulnerable-full-to-takeover
[4] https://finance.yahoo.com/news/40-environments-vulnerable-full-over-100000336.html
