Many people who use Apple devices daily often have a wrong sense of security. A few years ago, Apple devices were left aside of many security issues that Windows users faced for a long time. Also, based on a BSD layer, the OS wasn't a juicy target for attackers. Today, the landscape changed: Apple devices, especially Macbooks, are used not only by "creators" (musicians, designers, ...) and geeks but by many interesting profiles like managers and security researchers. All these people are working with interesting data. If you still think you don't need an antivirus or don't have to pay attention to security "because I'm running a Mac" you are wrong!

Apple released in May 2022 an interesting and updated document[1] about the security of their devices and operating systems. It provides details about how security technology and features are implemented within Apple platforms. It's a good starting point to help understand how it works and how to use these features in your organization. If you want to learn how things evolved, there is an archive of the previous guides on github.com[2].

Interesting to read, but you are maybe looking for more practical documents to harden your devices? There are plenty of resources available:

• "Security Configuration Guide – Apple iOS 14 Devices" by the Australian Cyber Security Center[3]
• "macOS Security and Privacy Guide"[4]
• "macOS Hardening project"[5]

If you're maintaining a network of mixed Windows and macOS devices, it can be a nightmare to manage. Do you know that the Microsoft Defender endpoint[6] is available for macOS and integrates perfectly with your Defender console? No excuse to leave the CIO Macbook unmanaged now!

They are increasingly malware[7] targeting macOS, which can't be ignored. Stay safe!

[1] https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/welcome/web
[2] https://github.com/0xmachos/Apple-Platform-Security-Guides
[3] https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/view-all-content/publications/security-configuration-guide-apple-ios-14-devices
[4] https://github.com/drduh/macOS-Security-and-Privacy-Guide
[5] https://github.com/ataumo/macos_hardening
[6] https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/security/defender-endpoint/microsoft-defender-endpoint-mac
[7] https://bazaar.abuse.ch/browse.php?search=tag%3Amacos

Xavier Mertens (@xme)
Xameco
Senior ISC Handler - Freelance Cyber Security Consultant
PGP Key