Passware (http://www.lostpassword.com/) — a provider of password recovery, decryption, and electronic evidence discovery software for computer forensics, law enforcement organizations, government agencies and private investigators — says its Passware Kit Forensic 11, a new version of its flagship product,– recovers Mac OS X user log-in passwords from computer memory in a matter of minutes.
As Apple’s operating system has increased in popularity in recent years, so have security threats for users, says Passware President Dmitry Sumin. The Mac OS vulnerability relates to user log-in passwords that are stored in the system memory even if the computer is locked or put into a sleep mode, he adds.
Passware Kit Forensic 11 captures live Mac computer memory over FireWire and analyzes it, extracting these passwords. The process takes a few minutes, regardless of the password strength and use of a FileVault encryption. The vulnerability is present in all modern versions of Mac OS X, including Mac OS X 10.6 and the latest Mac OS X 10.7 (“Lion”).
Passware Kit Forensic is available directly from Passware and a network of resellers worldwide. The price is US$995 with one year of free updates.