With Microsoft recently reiterating security protocols concerning the infamous Conficker worm, online security firm Kaspersky Lab has just suggested that Apple OS is ten years behind Windows regarding the handling of internet threats. With Mac OS becoming more popular, Mac-based malware is also on the rise, and Apple has been dealing with new variations of Flashback that began affecting systems earlier this month.

Eugene (Yevgeny) Kaspersky, co-founder and CEO of the Russian headquartered lab, had pointed out at the Infosecurity Europe 2012 conference – “I think (Apple) are ten years behind Microsoft in terms of security – For many years I’ve been saying that from a security point of view there is no big difference between Mac and Windows. It’s always been possible to develop Mac malware, but this one was a bit different. For example it was asking questions about being installed on the system and, using vulnerabilities, it was able to get to the user mode without any alarms.”

Not to say that Apple hasn’t done a good job in containing the Flashback malware, which exploited an opening in Java to infect computers that merely visited an infected website. Below is a graph documenting the containment effort, courtesy of Kaspersky competitor Symantec:

Kaspersky adds, “Apple is now entering the same world as Microsoft has been in for more than 10 years: updates, security patches and so on.” With hackers able to build upon the successes of a larger pool of mac-based malware tips and tricks, Kaspersky points out that Apple will be forced to invest more in seeking out vulnerabilities and expanding a more secure cycle of updates.

Kaspersky Lab is currently the third largest vendor of IT security-based software in the world, and the company stands as one of the few international firms coming out of Russia not dealing with natural resources or energy – and there is been no mention of any rapping billionaires who’ve made their fortunes in precious metals surrounding the firm.