Mac users face Subseven threat

Anti-virus vendor Symantec has warned Macintosh users that the malicious hacking tool Subseven Trojan can now attack the Mac OS operating system.

The Trojan is said to have been launched as a proof of talent in this year's Defcon hacker festival.

The Subseven Trojan is a well-known hacking tool, which has been in circulation for more than a year, but until now has only been a threat to Windows users.

Eric Chien, anti-virus specialist at Symantec, said that because the Trojan requires a lot of effort, the writer might try to achieve a higher status in the hacker community.

He told silicon.com: "The hacker has to know which machine is running on Mac which is quite difficult to find out remotely. The attacker had to get Mac users' email addresses from either user groups or bulletin boards which is quite an elaborate effort and would indicate a talent showcasing."

The Trojan which often hides in a .exe file can be distributed via IRC and email. Once the file is opened and the PC becomes infected, it allows the hacker access to all administration controls and files on the machine.

Defcon finished a week ago in Las Vegas.