Cybersecurity

Apple users are also vulnerable to WannaCry-type attacks, says cybersecurity expert

Key Points
  • Aleksandr Yampolskiy says it's a common misconception that Apple is not vulnerable to cyberattacks.
  • "It happens that this attack is targeting the Windows computers," he says.
  • On Friday, a cyberattack hit thousands of outdated versions of Microsoft Windows computers.
Cybersecurity expert: Think before you click
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Cybersecurity expert: Think before you click

Even Apple is vulnerable to massive cyberattacks like the one that just hit thousands of victims in at least 150 countries, a security risk management expert told CNBC on Monday.

The comments came after Friday's global ransomware attacks which locked up computers running outdated versions of Microsoft Windows in car factories, hospitals, shops and schools in several countries and demanded money from users.

"That's a common misconception," Aleksandr Yampolskiy, founder and CEO of SecurityScorecard, said on "Squawk Box," when asked if Apple users can't be affected by other cyberattacks. "It happens that this attack is targeting the Windows computers. ... But Apple is absolutely vulnerable to similar types of attacks."

CNBC has reached out to Apple for comment.

Yampolskiy added that users aren't any safer with their information or data in the cloud.

"If you put things in a cloud, you depend on your third parties, you depend on your suppliers and if one of them gets hacked, you're in trouble," he said.

President Donald Trump ordered his homeland security advisor to hold an emergency meeting Friday night to assess the threat posed by the attacks, a senior administration official told Reuters.

— Reuters contributed to this report.