Macs are as easy to hack as they are to use, according to security researcher Charles Miller. Miller and his colleagues at Independent Security Evaluators discovered the first known vulnerability within the Apple iPhone. During his presentation, 'Hacking Leopard: Tools and techniques for attacking the newest Mac OS X', at the recent Black Hat Briefings, Miller said that for some reason the Mac OS has more than 50-plus 'Suid' root programs.

Apple has plugged around 100 vulnerabilities in OS X so far this year but the malware threat to Mac customers is insignificant compared to users of Microsoft Windows. So far this year, Apple users have been exposed to the kind of vulnerabilities that are more commonly associated with Windows. The Mac maker has plugged security flaws that could have resulted in OS X customers being "owned" by basic actions such as visiting a malicious website, watching a video file or opening an email attachment.

Senior execs such as CIOs and CEOs are being singled out by increasingly sophisticated email attacks which one expert predicts could drive a wave of corporate data theft. According to MessageLabs, emails carrying executable code and targeting high-level execs, or even their PAs in some instances, are circulating in very small numbers. However it is the level of detail, rather than the pure numbers, that MessageLabs claims gives the greatest cause for concern.

The use of consumer-based technology such as web email, instant messaging, smart phones and games consoles by employees is one of the most significant threats to corporate IT security. Analyst companies Forrester and Gartner have both warned this week that the entrance of consumer technologies into the enterprise is impossible to eliminate and challenges traditional security models.

The co-founder of antivirus company Sophos said the Mac is not a virus-free platform. He also believes Windows can be as secure as Linux - if it is configured correctly. Speaking in an interview with silicon.com sister site ZDNet Australia, Dr Jan Hruska, who co-founded Sophos and was one of the first ever PC antivirus experts, said viruses on the Mac are here and now. He said: "They are available and they are moving around - it is not as though the Mac is in some miraculous way a virus-free environment.

Businesses are using encryption, thin-client and other security technologies to tackle the increasing problem of laptop theft and the associated risk to corporate data. An exclusive investigation by silicon.com earlier this month revealed a sharp rise in the number of laptops stolen in the UK, while in recent months organisations such as Marks & Spencer, the Metropolitan Police, the Nationwide building society, Serco and Worcestershire County Council have been among those hit by laptop thefts.

Microsoft announced this week that it is setting up security response and research operations in Ireland and Japan and launched a preview of a new online Malware Protection Center. The efforts are meant to make Microsoft, a security industry newcomer, more competitive. Mark Miller, Microsoft's director of communications for security response, said on Wednesday: "This is significant. It is part of the globalisation of our research and response effort." Microsoft is taking on incumbents such as Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro, the world's top three antivirus companies, to conquer part of the multi-billion dollar security market. Industry watchers say Microsoft has done an impressive job building its security organisation, though the scaffolding has yet to come off.

Rogue and insecure wi-fi access points are increasingly posing a threat to the security of corporate networks. One of the main worries about wireless security is users unwittingly accessing insecure or malicious wireless networks when they are out of the office, according to a survey this week. And 10 out of the 12-strong silicon.com CIO Jury IT user panel agreed that wi-fi security is a major concern. Gavin Whatrup, group IT director at marketing services company Creston, said his organisation has taken the decision not to install a wireless infrastructure until the security elements of wi-fi have matured.

Symantec is taking a first step toward turning itself into a provider of hosted services for SMEs. The security and storage management software maker plans to launch a trial version of a new online back-up service called Symantec Protection Network - Online Backup Service. The new service is the first of several planned under the Symantec Protection Network brand, the company said. Arthur Wong, a Symantec senior vice president, said in a statement: "Many small and medium-sized businesses have not had the ability to get the reliable and secure service they [need] due to cost and lack of resources." Symantec aims to deliver easy-to-manage services at an affordable cost, the company said.

A new instant-messaging pest that spreads using the chat feature in Skype has surfaced, according to a warning by security company F-Secure. The worm, dubbed Pykse.A, is similar to threats that affect IM applications. A targeted Skype user will receive a chat message with text and a web link that looks like it goes to a Jpeg file on a website, F-Secure said on its website.