Apple Vulnerability Makes Users data accessable to hackers

Welcome to Digits. I'm Steve Russolillo. Apple released a software patch over the weekend that addressed a security flaw in its operating system. But are Apple users still at risk? Robert Siciliano, a McAfee online security expert, joins Digits from Boston. Robert, thanks so much for joining us. Thank you. So Robert, this security risk, it could have potentially put millions of people at risk. How would you compare this to, say, what happened at Target?

Well, Target, uh, the breach was direct access to consumer credit card information. So ideally, bad guys want credit card numbers so they can turn that immediately into cash, whereas this particular leak or vulnerability is one that would require hackers to work a little harder, essentially, to get data that they could turn into cash.

So what exactly did Apple do over the weekend to fix what could have been a, a pretty big problem here?

So, so far they have released a patch for iPads and iPhones that will essentially lock down the Secure Socket Layer, the vulnerability that has occurred on those devices' operating systems. Currently, the Mac, however, is still vulnerable. That patch has not been released.

So what can a Mac user do right now?

So Mac users, uh, that are connected to Wi-Fi, uh, whether it's via a laptop or in some cases a desktop, should download and use something called Hotspot Shield, which will encrypt their wireless communications. Uh, more than likely that should protect any unencrypted communications over Wi-Fi.

So I guess right now, sitting here after what happened over the past few days, you know, what other risks do Apple users face from other potential problems or things potentially we don't even know about right now?

You know, it is somewhat of a myth that Macs are immune to viruses. You know, while there are millions of viruses that target Windows operating system, there are still thousands and thousands that target Macs. So Macs still need an antivirus program in order to protect them from malicious viruses. And they also— Mac users also have to be aware of common scams like phishing scams that might lure them to enter credentials, usernames and passwords, going to spoofed websites and so forth.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how worried should Apple users be right now?

Well, from what we've seen and heard, this is a pretty significant vulnerability that anyone that is using a Mac, an iPad, or an iPhone can essentially have all of their encrypted communications be read by someone who's on the same wireless network as them. Now, while we all face a certain amount of vulnerability on wireless networks that are unprotected, you know, free public wireless networks, this exposes iPad, iPhone, and Mac users that much more so.

Scary stuff. Robert Siciliano, thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.

And I'm Steve Russolillo. Thanks for watching Digits.