Following a spate of security breaches and concerns, Apple has taken the steps to ensure that 2016 doesn’t see a repeat of the software problems that it suffered in recent months. The security measures have been widespread, with updates to their operating systems for mobile (iOS) and Mac (OS X), its television service (Apple TV), the Safari web browser, and the operating system for its much publicized smartwatch (watchOS).
This move was prompted by the worrying number of vulnerabilities that were present in its software. To give you some idea of the state of array that Apple found itself in, when an update for the 9.2 version of iOS was released, it was said to include a solution for more than fifty security issues that had been discovered, while the number of problems on OS X were said to have reached more than one hundred.
Nearly half of those vulnerabilities allowed for a cyber attacker to take control of the device by accessing it via a malicious application that had been unwittingly installed.
It seems strange that Apple has to patch up security issues in its software when, for many years, fans of the brand vehemently boasted that there were no malware risks that could damage the luster of the brand.
However, it turns our this is false, and not only have threats existed for decades, but the past year has been one of the most devastating in the brand’s history.
According to a recent study, the number of malicious programs created for the Mac operating system in 2015 was five times higher than the total amount created in the previous five years, making it a low point for the security of Apple devices and its users.
This bad news comes with an ironic silver lining for Apple – if there are more and more malware samples being created for its operating it systems, it means that the brand itself is becoming more popular. Until now, keeping in mind that Windows (or Android, in the case of mobile devices) has the lion’s share of the market, it was logical to think that cybercriminals would put more effort into taking advantage of the Microsoft operating system.
However, this growth means that Apple is now looking more and more attractive to cybercriminals, as they look to get bigger rewards from their malware. The company ended the year having covered up many holes in its security armor, but that’s just the start of it – it’s likely that the next year will see more holes that need covering up.
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