Apple Hacked, Mac OS Breached for First Time

Attacks by hackers have breached Apple Inc. using malware specifically designed for Mac computers.

The huge multinational corporation known for its popular handheld devices has announced in a statement on Tuesday that hackers have successfully attacked the Macintosh computers of some company employees, Reuters reports. 

"Apple has identified malware which infected a limited number of Mac systems through a vulnerability in the Java plug-in for browsers. The malware was employed in an attack against Apple and other companies, and was spread through a website for software developers," the statement said. 

This is a first for Apple officials who have acknowledged that some computers were infected with a malware designed for the Mac operating system. Officials said the malware breached Apple computers when employees visited an infected website for software developers. But officials say the breach did not jeopardize company data.

"We identified a small number of systems within Apple that were infected and isolated them from our network. There is no evidence that any data left Apple," the statement said.

The malware identified by Apple is the same software that was used to hack Facebook in January. The malware works by exploiting a design flaw in Orcale Corp.'s Java software that is used on web browsers. An unidentified source close to the Apple investigation told Reuters that hundreds of computers have been infected with the same malware, including computer with defense contractors. 

This announcement by Apple marks the first profile incident of hackers attacking Mac operating systems. Typically attacks are focused on the Microsoft Windows operating system which is more popularly used.

"This is the first really big attack on Macs," the undisclosed source told Reuters. "Apple has more on its hands than the attack on itself." 

Company officials say they plan on releasing a software on Tuesday which Mac users can install to repair operating systems infected with the malware. Apple is working with the FBI to determine who is behind the attack.