Apple Security is 10 Years Behind Microsoft, Says Kaspersky

Speaking at the Info Security 2012 conference, Kaspersky noted that Apple is "10 years behind Microsoft" as far as software security is concerned. This may come as a surprise to those who watched Apple's 2006 ad that claimed that there were 114,000 known viruses for Windows in 2005, "but not for Macs". It has always been one of Apple's most prominent claims of advantages over Windows that Microsoft-based PCs are just more vulnerable than Macs.

Of course, Apple may have to eat its words as the Apple platform gains popularity and turns into a much more attractive target for hackers. Kaspersky noted that his company is lately seeing an increase in malware: “Cyber criminals have now recognised that Mac is an interesting area,” Kaspersky was quoted in an article published by Forbes. “Now we have more, it’s not just Flashback or Flashfake. Welcome to Microsoft’s world, Mac. It’s full of malware.”

Apple has frequently been cricticized for its inconsistent and rather rare and secretive patch cycle, but Kaspersky believes that the company may be facing the same problems "Microsoft had ten or 12 years ago." He stated that Apple may will "have to make changes in terms of the cycle of updates and so on and will be forced to invest more into their security audits for the software.”