What Is Silver Sparrow Malware? Record Number Of Mac Device Found To Be Infected

Apple’s macOS rarely get infected but a new report claims there is a new malware out in the open called “Silver Sparrow.” It appears this new strain has infected roughly 30,000 Macintosh users as of Feb. 17 and experts are carefully monitoring it, figuring out what damage it may do.

Through a blog post, Red Canary revealed how the “Silver Sparrow’s” motives are unclear as of this writing. It has slyly crept its way into Mac machines and covers countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany.

But the damage it can do remains up in the air. It has been found in systems and appears to be waiting for a new command from whoever is behind it all. Some may consider it as a minor threat but Red Canary warns that no one should let their guard down. There is a possibility that the malware is capable of detecting researchers analyzing it and that it is holding off delivering a second-stage payload to the systems.

Though seemingly quiet, the reality of it all is that the fact it affects a wide range of Macs makes it a reason to be concerned about. It becomes only the second malware strain to affect macOS systems that run on M1 chips. The first one was spotted just four days before the discovery of the “Silver Sparrow.”

"Though we haven't observed Silver Sparrow delivering additional malicious payloads yet, its forward-looking M1 chip compatibility, global reach, relatively high infection rate, and operational maturity suggest Silver Sparrow is a reasonably serious threat, uniquely positioned to deliver a potentially impactful payload at a moment's notice," Red Canary's Tony Lambert stated.

Further, the report from Red Canary contains indicators of compromise, such as files and file paths created and used by the malware that can be used to detect infected systems.

For now, the report should keep Mac users on their feet. A better explanation on the threat that the “Silver Sparrow” has yet to come out and most are hoping it comes out soon.