Vision Pro, Apple Silicon, Macs, new enterprise tools — and privacy protection were all among the many WWDC announcements Apple made this week.
Introducing these protections, Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president for software engineering said: “We are focused on keeping our users in the driver’s seat when it comes to their data by continuing to provide industry-leading privacy features and the best data security in the world.
Apple locks down Lockdown Mode
One key set of protections has been improved. While it has implications for anyone who might be a victim, Lockdown Mode is designed to protect high-value targets such as journalists, human rights campaigners, business people, or even politicians. Apple is enhancing this protection in several ways:
- A device will not connect to (highly insecure) 2G networks.
- Devices will not be able to auto-join insecure wireless networks.
- Media handling and sharing will be better protected and limited.
- Sandboxing and network security will be optimized.
In addition, Lockdown Mode now extends to the Apple Watch, closing another avenue for compromise.
Apple hasn’t shared more granular information yet, but given the security environment is febrile and even mid-ranking business executives need to protect themselves and their data, any improvement is welcome.
Travelers will use Check In
Another potential safety tool for frequent travelers, Check In lets you automatically let selected people and family members know when you reach your destination safely. The system is intelligent enough to note if you’ve been delayed on your journey and will check in with you. If you do not respond, it will share your location, battery level, cellular service status, and the last time you actively used your iPhone with selected contacts.
Passwords and passkeys
You can now share, add, and edit passwords across groups. Intended primarily for families, the idea is that everyone in the group can use the same accounts for some services, such as Instacart. The sharing takes place using iCloud Keychain and is end-to-end encrypted. This kind of sharing means IT can now deploy passcodes and passkeys automatically to managed devices.
Making Verification codes great again
If you use enterprise services, you may be pleased that one-time verification codes received in Mail will now automatically autofill in Safari.
Better protections for managed devices
Apple introduced a host of additional services and protections for managed devices. You can review most of them here, but three highlights for enterprise IT include:
- Added layers of protection and privacy in macOS for managed devices, including new ways to deploy apps and configuration files.
- New authorizations and messages to encourage users to register their devices with company MDM services.
- IT enforced software updates on specific deadlines with improved user transparency.
Introducing Link Tracking Protection
All Apple platforms will benefit from a…
2023-06-14 18:00:02
Original from www.computerworld.com