So-called macOS Stealers malware that seeks to extract personal data like passwords and credit card numbers from your machine is expected to be significantly more prevalent this year.A new annual report on the state of malware says that Mac owners could be at almost as much risk as Windows PC users this year Malwarebytes describes the growing security and privacy threat in its 2025 State of Malware report.Mac malware is undergoing a revolution as an old guard of threats gives way to a dangerous new breed of information stealers that use the same feature set and distribution channels as Windows malware []In 2024, a new generation of information stealers emerged to challenge the status quo and give Mac-using businesses a much more serious problem to worry about.Stealers make money for criminals by finding and stealing valuable information on the computers they infect, such as credit card details, authentication cookies, passwords and cryptocurrency. Although they do not discriminate between computers on home or corporate networks, stealers appetite for passwords and authentication cookies should be a serious concern to organizations using Macs.The report cites Poseidon and Atomic Stealer as examples.Poseidon boasts that it can steal cryptocurrency from over 160 different wallets, and passwords from web browsers, the Bitwarden and KeePassC password managers, the FileZilla file transfer app, and VPN configurations including Fortinet and OpenVPN []Information stealers like Atomic Stealer and Poseidon are a serious and growing threat on the Mac platform. Criminals can use stolen credentials to steal information, access sensitive resources, and create convincing social engineering attacks. In 2025, AI agents will be used to carry out a lot of the legwork for these attacks, meaning that they are likely to be carried out on an unprecedented scale.The company suggests that while Mac owners have historically been much safer than Windows PC users, the threat levels this year could be much closer.9to5Macs TakeMalwarebytes is in the business of selling corporate defenses against malware attacks, so its to be expected that it will talk up the risks.However, its certainly true that macOS Stealers have become a much bigger problem in the past year, and the use of autonomous AI agents to carry out attacks is a question of when rather than if.Most Mac malware relies on tricking users into installing it, so your best protection is to be very careful about where you source your Mac software. The Mac App Store is the safest place, followed by the websites of developers you trust. It shouldnt even need saying, but pirate software sites are of course rife with malware.Image: MalwarebytesAdd 9to5Mac to your Google News feed. FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.Youre reading 9to5Mac experts who break news about Apple and its surrounding ecosystem, day after day. Be sure to check out our homepage for all the latest news, and follow 9to5Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay in the loop. Dont know where to start? Check out our exclusive stories, reviews, how-tos, and subscribe to our YouTube channel