Apple Updates Its Security Guide to Emphasise

Apple Updates Its Security Guide to Emphasise on Hardware, Software Changes

Apple today updated its Platform Security Guide to highlight the key security changes it has implemented in its products, including the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The updated document is the largest to date (almost a complete technical guide of 200 pages) detailing the features Apple uses to protect user data and devices on all platforms. One of the changes that the latest revision brings to the Apple Platform Security Guide is the addition of all the major security changes available through the Apple M1 chip that was introduced last year.

the updated Apple’s Platform Security Guide has been revised more than 10 months after its last update. Covers iOS 14.3, iPadOS 14.3, macOS Big Sur 11.1, tvOS 14.3, and watchOS 7.2.

Apple has added 11 new topics to its latest Platform Security Guide that primarily covers key security changes available to Mac users through its native silicon – the Apple M1. The guide covers the security features that are in place to provide a secure boot process on new Mac machines. It also discusses authorization requirements for enabling kernel extensions on Apple computers based on the M1 chip. However, security researcher Patrick Wardle recently suggested that Mac Apple M1 machines are not fully insured either and they require some fixes that could come through a future software update.

In addition to the Apple M1 chipset, the updated Platform Security Guide mentions the security changes available for iPhone and iPad through the iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 updates. These include the iBoot implementation which is limited to iPhones based on Apple A13 Bionic and later, and iPads that run on the A14 Bionic chip.

Apple brought a list of software and hardware updates to its devices in the past to improve their security. One of the most important changes the company made was the introduction of Touch ID and Face ID with the aim of improving the user experience through biometric authentication along with password protection.

Before those updates, Apple saw that about 49 percent of its users were setting a passcode on their devices, meaning 51 percent of its total user base were not using a passcode. The reason for avoiding the use of passcodes was believed to be the effort required by users to unlock their devices. However, once Apple introduced biometric authentication, the company noticed that more than 92 percent of its users opted for Touch ID.

Apple also upgraded its silicon on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices, with a T2 chip and dedicated AES hardware engine to implement line-speed encryption.

Having said that, the ecosystem built by Apple is not foolproof. The company often receives bug reports from security researchers. It has even faced lawsuits in the past for allegedly infringing on copyrights while improving the security of its operating systems.