Two recent posts on Apple security deserve attention:
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Is Apple Feeling the Security Pinch? (BNET, May 14, 2009)
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Prediction: Apple will recomend security software (CNET News, May 6, 2009)
To quote the first article (Feeling the Pinch):
...Apple has long encouraged a mythological image of perfection by presenting products as self-contained black boxes that should be, as much as possible, wholly a product of Apple. But the image has been cracking of late, and the company’s own actions show tacit, if not explicit, acknowledgment.
When it comes to security, Apple certainly has its defenders who largely argue for the company’s effectiveness by pointing to what hasn’t happened. For example, I recently had an email exchange with a technology journalist who has never had a security problem with Macs. However, up to that point, he had also never used antivirus software on his system. Nothing showed up when he finally did, but I saw this as an example of selective attention. That feature is a big one among a class of Apple loyalists (and I’m not putting said unnamed journalist into this camp) that I call Defenders of the One True Technology, or DOTTies — a term hardly limited to Apple-devotees..
But even if the Appe DOTTies are reluctant to look at external evidence, they might pay attention to Apple’s recent activities. A big one earlier this week was Apple Patch Day, which included 67 Mac OS X and Safari vulnerabilities...[and hired] Ivan Krstic a big name in security who developed the Bitfrost system at age 21.
Apple recognizes its own security weaknesses, even if the DOTTies don’t. ...Apple knows it needs more attention to security as it gains market share in various areas, even if it won’t [publicly] say so. Apple will just buy some company or product, incorporate it, and pretend that it was there all the time.
To quote the second article (Prediction):
Within the next 18 months, Apple will begin recommending that Macintosh users install Internet security software on all systems...Now I realize that this statement is blasphemy to dedicated Mac users, so let me start with a few qualifying statements. I am not comparing Mac OS with Windows, or Apple with Microsoft, and my prediction should not be interpreted as an attack on Apple, its developers, or the security of its code.
The truth is that all sophisticated software contains vulnerabilities and Mac-based malicious code is nothing new...The company and Macintosh users should not fight this trend--doing so would only increase risk and help cybercriminals.
Senior citizens often hark back to a time when people left their house unlocked and left their car keys in the ignition. Now they lock their doors for safety. Apple, along with Mac users, should prepare for a similar transition. Given the state of cybersecurity today, pragmatism should trump romanticism.
Well stated.
Now, if only Apple could make security as sexy and sleek as their products...that would be innovative.
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