macos used runonly applescripts to avoid

#Macos used runonly applescripts to avoid download
#Macos used runonly applescripts to avoid mac

In this case, we have not seen the actor use any of the more powerful features of AppleScript … but that is an attack vector that remains wide open and which many defensive tools are not equipped to handle. In the event that other threat actors begin picking up on the utility of … run-only AppleScripts, we hope this research and the tools discussed above will prove to be of use to analysts. īut this Anonymous Coward thinks Phil is hyping it up a bit: applescript-disassembler has been around for at least four years and it's just one 'run only AppleScript' disassembler. However, nneonneo has more nuance 'Run-only' AppleScript is compiled to a bytecode format that is very poorly documented. … I can't be too surprised that run-only AppleScript ended up as a good malware vector: It's so poorly documented, and there are so few tools to understand it, that it could easily fly under the radar. Trojans gonna … Troje? 93 Escort Wagon drives it home: Sounds like if you haven't been pirating software, you don't have to worry about it. Push the button, numpad0: There are people who actively avoid official distribution, thinking … anything should come through a middle man. What the heck is a run-only script? Is that like write-only memory? CaptQuark leads a charmed life: 'Run Only' just means it has been processed into a compacted version of the program that isn't easy to edit. It wasn't meant to be easy to read, understand, or edit, thus the name 'run only.' They could have named it AppleScript Bytecode if you think that's a better phrase. And jandrese agrees: I thought there was some kind of weird Apple permission thing where you could mark a binary as unreadable but somehow could still be run to evade malware detection. What undebuggable, badly documented legacy is hiding in your platform? How could it be misused? And finally Meanwhile, what is with wtfiswiththis? Anyone remember the 'Macs don't need antivirus' answer on Apple's FAQ from years ago? The moral of the story? But it seems like this technical article author is just unfamiliar with the concept of compiling.

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#Macos used runonly applescripts to avoid download

To keep yourself safe from such malware, make sure that you only download apps from trustworthy sources. Now that OSAMiner has been detected and its complex architecture has been reverse engineered, it will help other researchers in finding any other hidden “run only” AppleScript malware. In the event that other threat actors begin picking up on the utility of leveraging run-only AppleScripts, we hope this research and the tools discussed above will prove to be of use to analysts. In this case, we have not seen the actor use any of the more powerful features of AppleScript that we’ve discussed elsewhere, but that is an attack vector that remains wide open and which many defensive tools are not equipped to handle. Run-only AppleScripts are surprisingly rare in the macOS malware world, but both the longevity of and the lack of attention to the macOS.OSAMiner campaign, which has likely been running for at least 5 years, shows exactly how powerful run-only AppleScripts can be for evasion and anti-analysis. SentinelOne noted that run-only AppleScripts are rarely used for macOS malware, but OSAMiner showed that they are incredibly powerful for malicious intents and can be used to remain hidden from detection: These “run-only” AppleScripts made it easier for OSAMiner to avoid detection over the years. When users downloaded the affected apps, an AppleScript would be downloaded which would run a second AppleScript, which would, in turn, download the third AppleScript.

The malware has also evolved recently and has primarily targeted users in China and Asia-Pacific. OSAMiner has been active since 2015, secretly mining cryptocurrency on affected Macs. OSAMiner has been secretly mining cryptocurrency on affected Macs

#Macos used runonly applescripts to avoid mac

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