12/2/2020 Apple Mac Security Software
Update 2020: Our top Mac antivirus provider, Intego, replaced its free plan with a free trial, so I’ve taken it off this list. But Intego really offers some of the strongest macOS protection out there. It’s frequently updated, builds upon Apple’s native security features, and is relatively inexpensive. Apple Fitness+ is coming late 2020. $4.99/month after free trial. One subscription per Family Sharing group. Offer good for 3 months after eligible device activation. Plan automatically renews until canceled. Restrictions and other terms apply. Kaspersky Internet Security for Mac can even turn off the webcam on a MacBook, a feature that Apple itself doesn't offer, and the program's interface is detailed yet easy to use.
Prepare Your Institution for iOS 13 or macOS Catalina
If you’re a system administrator, review these documents to prepare for iOS 13 and macOS Catalina.
End-of-Life for SHA-1 Certificate Support
In 2017, a security update to Apple’s operating systems removed support for SHA-1 signed certificates used for Transport Layer Security (TLS) in Safari and WebKit. Make sure to use SHA-256 signed certificates.
Making Secure Connections
A range of APIs on Apple platforms enable your apps to employ secure network connections and to benefit from OS-level security policies.
App Transport Security (ATS)
ATS establishes best-practice policies for secure network communications using Apple platforms, employing Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2, forward secrecy, and strong cryptography.
Secure Transport API
Use Apple’s secure transport API to employ current versions of the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), and Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) cryptographic protocols for network communications.
Supported Algorithms
Starting with iOS 10 and macOS v10.12, the RC4 cipher suite is disabled by default. In addition, Apple recommends that your servers use certificates signed with the SHA-2 cryptographic function.
DeviceCheck and the App Attest API
Protect against security threats to your iOS apps and reduce fraudulent use of your services by managing device states and asserting app integrity. The DeviceCheck services provide information that you can integrate into an overall anti-fraud strategy for your app and risk assessment for a given device.
Using the DeviceCheck service, a token on your server can set and query two binary digits of data per device — for example, to flag a device you‘ve determined to be fraudulent — while maintaining user privacy. And with App Attest, you can generate a special cryptographic key on a device running iOS 14 or later, and use that key to validate the integrity of your app before your server provides access to sensitive data.
Certificate Transparency and Certificate Trust APIs
Strong encryption for your network connections is not enough. To help ensure your app is connecting to the right server, employ Apple’s certificate trust APIs and Certificate Transparency.
![]() Protecting User Data
Apple platforms provide a variety of features for protecting user data.
Purpose Strings
Purpose strings let you statically declare the sensitive data and resources your app employs.
Copying and Pasting Sensitive Data
Copying and pasting sensitive data in iOS can take advantage of privacy options.
Keychain and iCloud Keychain
Keychain and iCloud Keychain provide a secure repository for sensitive user data, such as certificates, keys, passwords, and notes.
App Sandboxing
Protect Mac systems and users by limiting the privileges of an app to its intended functionality, increasing the difficulty for malicious software to compromise users’ systems.
Executing Code Securely
Apple platforms protect users with secure code execution. Xcode, Apple’s integrated development environment (IDE), directly provides code signing for iOS, watchOS, and tvOS apps, as well as for macOS apps that you distribute through the Mac App Store.
Sign Your Apps with Developer ID
Gatekeeper on macOS helps protect users from downloading and installing malicious software distributed outside the Mac App Store by checking for a Developer ID certificate.
Notarize Your Apps
If distributing your Mac app outside of the Mac App Store, sign and upload your app to Apple to be notarized to certify your app is genuine and to perform a security check.
Cryptographic Interfaces
Apple platforms offer a comprehensive set of low-level APIs for developing cryptographic solutions within your apps.
Apple CryptoKit
Perform cryptographic operations securely and efficiently in your app.
Common Crypto Library
The Common Crypto library supports symmetric encryption, hash-based message authentication codes, and digests.
CryptoTokenKit for Smart Card Support
The CryptoTokenKit framework provides first-class access for working with smart cards and other cryptographic devices in macOS.
SecKey API for Asymmetric Keys
SecKey provides a unified asymmetric key API across Apple platforms.
Security Fundamentals and Resources
These resources provide background information and support for security on Apple platforms.
GuidesProgramscorecrypto
Both Security Framework and Common Crypto rely on the corecrypto library to provide implementations of low level cryptographic primitives. This is also the library submitted for validation of compliance with U.S. Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 140-2 Level 1. Although corecrypto does not directly provide programming interfaces for developers and should not be used by iOS or macOS apps, the source code is available to allow for verification of its security characteristics and correct functioning.
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