Both threats were classified as ‘low risk’.
The first worm, the OSX/Leap-A worm, was revealed on Thursday,
amid warnings that it spreads via instant messaging systems
"Some owners of Mac computers have held the belief that Mac OS X
is incapable of harbouring computer viruses, but Leap-A will leave
them shell-shocked, as it shows that the malware threat on Mac OS X
is real," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for
security firm Sophos. "Mac users shouldn't think it's okay to lie
back and not worry about viruses."
The worm attempts to send itself to contacts on the infected
users' buddy list. But according to rival security firm Symantec, a
bug in the worm's code reduces the chances of propagation. There
have been a small number of infections reported.
On Friday, a second worm, known as the OSX/Inqtana-A worm was
identified. This, according to Sophos, is a proof-of-concept worm
that exploits a Bluetooth vulnerability. That vulnerability has
already been patched by Apple – again reducing the chances of
widespread infection.
"It's disturbing to see a second worm for Mac OS X so soon after
the first, but it should be remembered that this is only two
compared to well over 100,000 viruses for Microsoft operating
systems," said Cluley.
As always, the advice for Mac and Windows users alike is to keep
anti-virus and firewall software updated, and to be careful when
opening attachments.
