Mac OS X hacker gains control in 30 min

One hacker was able to gain control of a Mac OS X machine within 30 minutes, according to a new report. ZDNet Australia reports that Mac OS X was hacked within 30 minutes using an unpublished security vulnerability. The "gwerdna" hacker, who was able to quickly gain root access to the Mac, was responding to a "rm-my-mac" challenge issued in late February by a Sweden-based Mac enthusiast. While the hacker said that the Mac could have been better protected, he said that it would not have made a difference, as he exploited a vulnerability that has not yet been made public or patched by Apple, according to the report. "Gwerdna" said that Apple's OS--often touted as more secure than its Windows counterpart--is "easy pickings" when it comes to vulnerabilities and that relatively low marketshare leaves most hackers uninterested in the platform. Although Apple has quickly responded to new virus and security threats published in the past month, other researchers still believe that old flaws in Mac OS X leave the OS vulnerable to attacks.

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