The Art of Mac Malware, Volume 2 : Detecting Malicious Software

Macs have become a popular target of cyber-criminals, and there are few effective defences against these pernicious threats - until now. The second volume of The Art of Mac Malware is the first book to cover state-of-the-art programming techniques and security tools for detecting and countering malicious code running on a macOS system. Author Patrick Wardle, a former NSA hacker and a leading authority on macOS threat analysis, shares real-world examples from his own research to reveal the many strategies used by actual malware specimens to evade detection. As you dive deep into the Mac operating system's internals, you'll learn about: Apple's public and private frameworks and APIs, How to build heuristic-based security tools for the macOS, Using the macOS Endpoint Security framework to develop real-time monitoring software , Objective-See's suite of anti-malware tools, including KnockKnock, BlockBlock, and OverSight. But this book is not just aimed at practitioners - for anyone interested in understanding the current threats facing the Apple ecosystem, it's a must-read.

This first-of-its-kind guide to detecting stealthy Mac malware gives you the tools and techniques to counter even the most sophisticated threats targeting the Apple ecosystem.

As renowned Mac security expert Patrick Wardle notes in The Art of Mac Malware, Volume 2, the substantial and growing number of Mac users, both personal and enterprise, has created a compelling incentive for malware authors to ever more frequently target macOS systems. The only effective way to counter these constantly evolving and increasingly sophisticated threats is through learning and applying robust heuristic-based detection techniques. 

To that end, Wardle draws upon decades of experience to guide you through the programmatic implementation of such detection techniques. By exploring how to leverage macOS’s security-centric frameworks (both public and private), diving into key elements of behavioral-based detection, and highlighting relevant examples of real-life malware, Wardle teaches and underscores the efficacy of these powerful approaches.

Across 14 in-depth chapters, you’ll learn how to:

• Capture critical snapshots of system state to reveal the subtle signs of infection
• Enumerate and analyze running processes to uncover evidence of malware
• Parse the macOS’s distribution and binary file formats to detect malicious anomalies
• Utilize code signing as an effective tool to identify malware and reduce false positives
• Write efficient code that harnesses the full potential of Apple’s public and private APIs
• Leverage Apple’s Endpoint Security and Network Extension frameworks to build real-time monitoring tools

This comprehensive guide provides you with the knowledge to develop tools and techniques, and to neutralize threats before it’s too late.