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Just because youre using a Mac doesnt mean youre safe from hackers. Thats what two security researchers are warning, after finding a Mac-based malware that may be an attempt by Iranian hackers to target the U.S. defense industry.

The malware, called MacDownloader, was found on a website impersonating the U.S. aerospace company United Technologies, according to a report from Claudio Guarnieri and Collin Anderson, who are researching Iranian cyberespionage threats.

The fake site was previously used in a spear-phishing email attack to spread Windows malware and is believed to be maintained by Iranian hackers, the researchers claimed.

Visitors to the site are greeted with a page about free programs and courses for employees of the U.S. defense companies Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Boeing.

The malware itself can be downloaded from an Adobe Flash installer for a video embedded in the site. The website will provide either Windows or Mac-based malware, depending on the detected operating system.

A screenshot of the fake site.

The MacDownloader malware was designed to profile the victim's computer, and then steal credentials by generating fake system login boxes and harvesting them from Apple's password management system, Keychain.

However, the malware is of shoddy quality and is "potentially a first attempt from an amateur developer," the researchers said.

For instance, once the malware is installed, it will generate a fake Adobe Flash Player dialog box, only to then announce that adware was discovered on the computer and that it will attempt to clean it up.

"These dialogues are also rife with basic typos and grammatical errors, indicating that the developer paid little attention to quality control," the researchers said.

In addition, the malware failed to run a script to download additional malicious coding onto the infected Mac.

But despite the shoddy quality, the malware still managed to evade detection on VirusTotal, which aggregates antivirus scanning engines.

The researchers found other circumstantial evidence that the malware is linked to Iran. An exposed server that the MacDownloader agent uploaded showed wireless networks called "Jok3r" and "mb_1986." Both of these names have ties to previous Iranian hacking groups, including one known as Flying Kitten, which is suspected of targeting U.S. defense contractors and political dissidents.

In an email, Anderson said a colleague also observed MacDownloader targeting a human rights activist.

The danger is that many human rights supporters, especially in Iran, are dependent on Apple devices, the researchers said. "While this [malware] is neither sophisticated nor full-featured, its sudden appearance is concerning given the popularity of Apple computers," they wrote in their report.

Mac malware is fairly rare, according to security researchers. That's because hackers tend to attack Windows-based devices, because of their popularity.

However, Mac-based malware is still popping up here and there. Last month, researchers found another kind designed to spy on biomedical research centers. A separate Mac-based Trojan was found months earlier, targeting the aerospace industry.

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Mac malware, possibly made in Iran, targets US defense industry - Computerworld

President Trump could come under new pressure to lift the curtain on secret elements of the Iran nuclear deal struck by his predecessor, especially as the Islamic Republic continues its war of words with his administration.

Only days after the Iran nuclear deal was announced in July of 2015, news began to leak out about secret side agreements made between the Islamic Republic and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Some of those agreements have been subsequently released, but with the tension ratcheting up between Iran and Trump, who has criticized the deal, the White House could reveal more details.

Iran has been formally PUT ON NOTICE for firing a ballistic missile. Should have been thankful for the terrible deal the U.S. made with them! Trump tweeted last week, quickly adding: Iran was on its last legs and ready to collapse until the U.S. came along and gave it a life-line in the form of the Iran Deal: $150 billion.

Talk of secret "side agreements" involving Iran's past testing and inspection methods began almost as soon as the deal was reached. President Obamas national security adviser Susan Rice acknowledged that the documents between Iran and the IAEA were not public, but said Obama administration was informed of their contents and planned to share the details with Congress in a classified briefing.

Since then, however, a number of other alleged side deals have come to light and many Republicans in Congress including former Kansas congressman and President Trumps current CIA director Mike Pompeo - continued to demand that the full context of the deal with Iran is revealed, especially following the countrys recent failed ballistic missile test.

The fact that there are side deals to begin with is a problem, Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior Iran analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News. The deal was sold to us as transparent and that hasnt been the case.

PJMedia columnist Roger Simon, in an article that was picked up by numerous conservative blogs, called for a full airing of the nuclear deal.

"The time is long since past for the complete details of this quondam deal to be released," read thecolumn.

The agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), forced Iran to halt its enrichment of uranium, a material that can be used in nuclear weapons and in exchange received widespread relief from U.S. and international sanctions that had crippled the Iranian economy.

One of the contentious issues brought up in the side deals is Irans claim that they can develop ballistic missiles with a range of 2,000 kilometers and that the tests are legitimate because they are not designed to carry a nuclear warhead.

We will follow two restrictions: The first is mentioned in the JCPOA, in the matter of no nuclear planning, and the second is the range of 2,000 km, which has already been noted previously by all elements in Iran," Iranian Army chief of staff Hassan Firouzabadi told local media back in 2015.

Officials from the U.S. and other Western nations contend that Tehran agreed two years ago to an eight-year extension of a ban on ballistic work during the nuclear negotiations. That agreement was codified in a U.N. Security Council resolution passed in parallel, but independently from the nuclear accord.

Besides the ballistic missile tests, there have also been a number of side deals revealed since the nuclear deal was announced a year and a half ago.

The Wall Street Journal reported last fall that Washington paid a $1.7 billion ransom for U.S. hostages held in Iran and agreed to lift UN sanctions on two major Tehran banks. The Obama administration also agreed to lift sanctions on Air Iran that were first imposed when it was revealed that the airline was ferrying weapons and supplies for the countrys Revolutionary Guard.

Another side deal with the IAEA relaxed key restrictions on Irans nuclear program in a decade, rather than the original 15 years agreed upon, and also gave the country the right to collect its own soil samples, instead of IAEA inspectors, at the Parchin military base.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump pledged to be tough onIran and openly criticized the Iran deal as bad for the U.S. While his administration last week ordered sanctions against more than two dozen people and companies in retaliation for Iran's recent ballistic missile test, the new sanctions represent a continuation of the Obama administration's limited punishment for Iran's ballistic missile activity and avoid a direct showdown with Tehran over the nuclear deal itself.

The sanction targets were drawn up before Obama left office as Trump press secretary Sean Spicer noted - and don't affect Iran Air, a big Iranian bank or any major government entity, making it unclear how effective they'll prove as deterrents.

Still analysts and conservative lawmakers, like Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker of Tennessee, believe that Trumps sterner approach to U.S.-Iranian relations puts the country in a good position when it comes to renegotiating the terms of the deal with Iran.

Trump spoke on Sunday with King Salman of Saudi Arabia and the White House said the two leaders. "agreed on the importance of rigorously enforcing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with Iran and of addressing Irans destabilizing regional activities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would bring up the Iran issue with Trump when the two leaders meet next week.

The new administration is in a good position to call for Iran and the IAEA to release all the documents, Ben Taleblu said. If Trump wants to renegotiate the deal, he can really hold Irans feet to the fire by vigorously enforcing of the existing agreement.

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Details of Iran nuclear deal still secret as US-Tehran relations unravel - Fox News

May restated her support for a two-state solution in the Middle East. Photograph: Peter Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images

Theresa May has resisted pressure to re-examine the viability of the international nuclear deal with Iran from her Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, who urged her to follow Donald Trumps example by imposing fresh sanctions.

May also said only a two-state solution could bring about peace in the Middle East, and her spokeswoman said the extension of illegal settlements made a solution more difficult.

Netanyahu had said responsible countries should follow Trump in imposing new sanctions against Iran after it test-fired a ballistic missile. But May expressed her concern about Irans actions without saying there was a need for sanctions.

At their first meeting in No 10, Netanyahu was canvassing support from the prime minister ahead of a meeting he is due to hold with Trump later this month, which will reveal more about the new US administrations policy towards the Middle East.

Trumps spokesman issued a statement last week regretting the expansion of settlements on the West Bank, but some Israelis interpreted the White House remarks as a softening of opposition to the existing settlements.

Before going into No 10, Netanyahu took the rare step of using the traditional warm words in front of the cameras to make clear that he wants Britain to take action against Iran. It had been agreed there would be no joint press conference after the meeting.

Standing on the steps of Downing Street he told reporters: We face challenges, thats very clear, from militant Islam and especially from Iran. Iran seeks to annihilate Israel, it seeks to conquer the Middle East, it threatens Europe, it threatens the west, it threatens the world. And it offers provocation after provocation.

Thats why I welcome President Trumps assistance of new sanctions against Iran, I think other nations should follow suit, certainly responsible nations. And Id like to talk to you about how we can ensure that Irans aggression does not go unanswered.

Following the meeting, Mays official spokeswoman said that the PM had made clear that we support the deal on nuclear that was agreed.

Echoing Mays words from a speech in Philadelphia last week, the spokeswoman said: What needs to happen now is that it needs to be properly enforced and policed and we also need to be alert to Irans pattern of destabilising activity in the region.

The deal, under which sanctions were lifted in return for Tehran giving up its military nuclear ambitions, had neutralised the possibility of the Iranians acquiring nuclear weapons for more than a decade, said the PMs spokeswoman.

May made clear that her top priority for the talks was strengthening trade and investment links before Brexit as well as exploring the potential for a deeper commercial relationship after the UK has left the EU.

She said she believed there was much more we can do and it was important to look at how we can build that relationship.

May also invited Netanyahu to return to the UK later this year to attend events to mark the 100th anniversary of the Balfour declaration in November.

The Israeli prime minister later went on to meet the foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, who has described the Iran nuclear deal as one of the achievements of the Obama administration.

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May refuses Netanyahu's call to impose new sanctions on Iran - The Guardian

Wall Street Journal

For Donald Trump's Team, Iran Moves Atop Confrontation List Wall Street Journal In a recent conversation, former Defense Secretary Robert Gates ticked off four areas most likely to produce the first national-security crisis for the new Trump administration: a confrontation with Iran in the Persian Gulf, a showdown with North Korea ...

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For Donald Trump's Team, Iran Moves Atop Confrontation List - Wall Street Journal

Forbes

As President Trump Signals A Tough Stance On Iran, Dubai Says It Will Open The Door Wider Forbes Through decades of waxing and waning enmity between the governments of United States and Iran, there has been a steady pipeline of highly educated Iranians emigrating to the United States, many who have gone on to be entrepreneurs. For instance ...

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As President Trump Signals A Tough Stance On Iran, Dubai Says It Will Open The Door Wider - Forbes