Apple s biggest ever Platform Security guide stresses commitment to user privacy
As Apple CEO Tim Cook keeps mentioning during events, Apple believes privacy is a fundamental human right, and the document reiterates commitment to user data privacy.
Ketan Pratap | February 19, 2021 | Updated 08:36 IST
Apple says that the Platform Security guide covers its entire product range.
Highlights
Apple has outlined its latest Platform Security update with iOS 14, macOS Big Sur, and Apple Silicon.
The almost 200-page document is the company s biggest ever update.
Notably, most of the things document covers has been announced previously, with some exceptions.
Apple published its 2021 update to Platform Security guide on Friday with its biggest ever document with deep-dive across iOS 14.3, iPadOS 14.3, macOS Big Sur 11.1, tvOS 14.3, and watchOS 7.2. The 200-page document provides a comprehensive overview of the latest security advancements across different devices.
Apple s approach is heavily based on hardware.
Apple has today updated its Platform Security Guide, a document that has only grown over the last decade. Currently, the guide sits at over 200 pages and outlines every security measure that Apple implements across its set of devices and operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS and even WatchOS. Pouring through the document, there are some very interesting bits that stand out. Here are some of them.
Hardware-First Approach
The Apple Platform Security Guide says that “For software to be secure, it must rest on hardware that has security built in.” While most of us might look at an Apple SoC, say, like the A14 Bionic and talk mostly about its performance, there are so many components built into that chip that is just for security. Apple’s approach to securing devices starts at the silicon level, with something called the Secure Enclave. This is a part of the SoC for both the mobile and M1 powered MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. The S
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Apple released its 2021 Platform Security guide, Thursday, outlining its current and year-ahead agenda for its device hardware, software and silicon security.
This year’s 192-page report is beefed-up, compared to past reports, with a wealth of new insights into how Apple is tackling security and privacy within its entire mobile, desktop and cloud ecosystem. Previous Platform Security updates have taken a piecemeal approach to address Apple’s security universe, said Rich Mogull, analyst and CEO with Securosis.
“This is the most comprehensive platform security update we have ever seen from Apple,” he told Threatpost.
Top 2021 Apple Platform Security report themes include what Apple’s M1 silicon means for Mac security; the latest developments around its Blast Door security technology used in iMessages; and transparency around Secure Enclave – a dedicated secure subsystem integrated into Apple systems-on-a-chip (SoC).
Apple has been designing technologies to keep users personal information safe. One such technology was the popular Touch ID, the fingerprint sensing system introduced back in 2013 that allowed faster, easier and secure access to supported Apple devices