Kaspersky denies rumors of working on OS X security
updated 05:12 pm EDT, Mon May 14, 2012
Firm says review is entirely self-driven
Security firm Kaskpersky Lab is denying claims that Apple has asked it to research vulnerabilities in OS X, a statement reveals. "On Monday, April 14, computing.co.uk published an article titled 'Apple OS 'really vulnerable' claims Kaspersky Lab CTO' that includes an inaccurate quote regarding Apple and Kaspersky Lab," the company writes. "The article reports that Kaspersky Lab had 'begun the process of analyzing the Mac OS platform at Apple's request' to identify vulnerabilities. This statement was taken out of context by the magazine -- Apple did not invite or solicit Kaspersky Lab's assistance in analyzing the Mac OS X platform. Kaspersky Lab has contacted computing.co.uk to correct its article."
The release includes a prepared quote from Kaspersky's CTO, Nikolay Grebennikov. "As Mac OS X market share continues to increase, we expect cyber-criminals to continue to develop new types of malware and attack methods. In order to meet these new threats, Kaspersky Lab has been conducting an in-depth analysis of Mac OS X vulnerabilities and new forms of malware.
"This security analysis of Mac OS X was conducted independently of Apple; however, Apple is open to collaborating with us regarding new Mac OS X vulnerabilities and malware that we identify during our analysis. Kaspersky Lab is committed to providing the highest level of security for all of our customers, including Mac OS X, and we will continue to enhance our technologies in order to meet the ever-changing threat landscape. "
Apple once marketed Macs as virtually virus-free compared to Windows PCs, but that image has largely disappeared. Most recently the platform was targeted by the Flashback series of trojans; at one point these switched to an exploit unpatched by Apple even though Oracle had solved the issue months prior.
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it is virus free
"Apple once marketed Macs as virtually virus-free compared to Windows PCs, ..."
The recent malware is not a virus so please understand what you're saying. I was going to comment on this earlier but luckily someone with brains corrected the insane original article. Before people think I'm being racist or haven't gotten over the cold war, asking a Russian company to help with security just isn't a good thing and Apple knows what the fallout would be if they actually did contract with them. There are export laws dealing with encryption and other security related items that would make this interaction next to impossible. There also are government restrictions dealing with software and services from a documented list of sensitive countries. Unless you work in this environment you aren't fully aware of what can and can't be done. I'm glad Kaspersky denied this effort.