Apple's Computers Infected with Malware Thanks to Java-based Exploit

Apparently Apple made a bad decision to skip over their own machines when they blocked Java browser plugins on OS X systems last month.

Reuters reports that the fruit-themed company admitted that malware managed to infect a handful of company computers after employees visited a website for software developers that had been compromised.

The website in question was housing an exploit that took advantage of a zero-day Java browser plugin vulnerability in order to drop malware on OS X systems.

The vulnerability appears to be the same one used in recent attacks against Facebook and hundreds of other companies, including defense contractors.

Apple says that they have isolated the infected machines from their network and that there is no evidence that any data has been stolen. The company is working with law enforcement to determine the source of the malware.

Apple machines have been shipped Java-free since OS X Lion, and Apple has taken many steps to protect users from Java-based attacks. The company says it plans on releasing a tool later on today that Mac users can use to detect and remove the malware used in this recent attack.

Do you have Java installed on your computer?

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