Google ads funnel Mac users to poisoned AI chats that spread the AMOS infostealer

Researchers have found evidence that Google search results for Mac users were contaminated with poisoned AI conversations used to spread the AMOS macOS infostealer. The infection chain begins when a user runs a query such as “clear disk space on macOS,” after which two poisoned AI conversations appeared with step‑by‑step instructions. Testing showed that the conversations guided users to run a command in the macOS Terminal, a command that ends with the machine becoming infected with AMOS.

The campaign follows patterns seen in a previous incident where sponsored search results and SEO‑poisoned pages redirected users to fake macOS software and provided instructions that installed AMOS. Researchers note a multi‑stage infection: a base64‑encoded string in the Terminal command decodes to a URL hosting a malicious bash script designed to deploy AMOS, harvest credentials, escalate privileges and establish persistence without triggering a security warning. The article also explains how attackers curate chats and messages to look like short, helpful guides while concealing their malicious origins.