The first malware was just discovered that was specially designed for the new M1 chip from Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),... This indicates that malware creators are now starting to adapt their malware to the new generator of ARM-based Mac computers.
According to the report published Mac security researcher Patrick Wardle (Via MacRumors), the new malware was adapted and recompiled to run on its own computer. Microcircuit M1. Wardle discovered that it was the first known native M1 malware as an extension for the Safari adware. It was originally made to work on chips Intel x86 from the Cupertino giant. The malicious extension is called "GoSearch22" and is a well-known member of the Pirrit adware family for Mac.
This expansion was also first noticed at the end of December last year. For those who don't know, Pirrit is one of the oldest and most active families of Mac adware found on a platform that constantly adapts to evade detection. Thus, it was only a matter of time before malware appeared on new Macs. The GoSearch22 adware appears to be a legitimate Safari browser extension that tracks and collects user data and serves a large number of advertisements such as banners and pop-ups.
Some of these pop-ups are associated with other malicious websites that spread even more malware. The adware was signed with Apple's developer ID in November 2020, Wardle said, but has since been withdrawn. He also added that since the malware for the M1 is still in its early stages, antivirus programs don't detect it as easily as those used in the x86 versions. In other words, this is just the beginning and we can expect more such malware to appear in the near future.
