WWDC: 18+ ways Apple plans to make you more secure

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.

Private
Click
Measurement

Some
ads
and
analytics
firms
use
link
tracking
to
get
data
on
user
habits.
However,
not
every
use
of
such
information
is
bad,
which
is
why
Apple
is
offering
Private
Click
Measurement.
This
lets
advertisers
track
ad
campaign
conversions,
but
not
at
the
cost
of
user
privacy.

Private
Browsing
now
locks
when
you
aren’t
using
it

If
you
use
Safari’s

private
browsing
mode,
Apple
now
makes
it
possible
to
lock
any
windows
open
in
that
mode
with
Face/Touch
ID
and
your
passcode.
It
means
no
one
but
you
should
be
able
to
enter
your
Safari
private
browsing
window,
even
when
you
step
away
from
your
device.

More
control
sharing
photos
with
apps

The
new
Photos
picker
will
let
you
select
specific
images
you
are
happy
to
share
with
apps.
The
idea
is
that
you
share
the
images
you’re
comfortable
sharing,
but
others
are
not
made
available.
Apps
will
need
specific
and
explained
permission
to
access
your
entire
library
and
the
system
will
periodically
remind
you
of
those
choices
so
you
can
review
and
revoke
that
permission.

You
can
get
a
drink

US
businesses
will
be
able
to
accept
IDs
in
Apple
Wallet.
A
young-looking
person
may
want
to
purchase
alcohol
and
the
business
may
need
to
check
their
age.
To
do
so,
both
parties
hold
their
iPhones
alongside
each
other,
and
the
business
will
be
able
to
see
the
ID
info
they
require.

Making
app
developers
privacy
conscious

Apple
now
shares
more
information
about
the

privacy/data
practices
of
SDKs
used
in
apps.
Available
as
Privacy
manifests,
these
summarize
privacy
practices
of
any
third-party
code
running
in
the
app.
That
info
can
then
also
be
included
within
App
Privacy
Nutrition
Labels
on
the
App
Store,
giving
customers
greater
insight.

Naming
and
shaming

Relevant
to
Privacy
Manifests,
Apple
confirmed
plans
to
publish
a
list
of
privacy
eroding
Software
Development
Kits
(SDKs)
at
some
point
in
2023.

Additional
App
Store
protections

Two
critical
App
Store
protections
have
been
introduced.
While
these
don’t
have
a
direct
impact
on
privacy,
they
may
have
indirect
effects:

Apps
containing
ads
must
now
also
provide
in-app
tools
to
report
exposure
to
inappropriate
or
age
inappropriate
ads.
This
should
reduce
exposure
to
adult
advertising
and
may
help
mitigate
against
“honeypot”
models
of
malware
distribution.
Apps
that
impersonate
other
apps
or
services
could
be
removed
and
might
see
developers
banned.
That’s
good
for
companies,
as
it
makes
it
harder
to
distribute
fake
company
branded
assets.
But
it
also
means
that
spoof
apps
containing
malware,
or
links
to
it,
may
be
removed.

Communication
Safety
tools
extended

Apple’s
(now
improved)
Communication
Safety
systems
can
identify
video
as
well
as
still
images
that
may
contain
nudity.
A
new
API
lets
developers
integrate
Communication
Safety
in
apps.
The
tools
also
now
work
with
AirDrop,
a
FaceTime
video
message,
and
when
using
the
Phone
app
to
receive
a
Contact
Poster
and
the
Photos
picker
to
choose
content
to
send.

Now
for
grown-ups

These
protections
have
also
been
extended
to
adults,
who
can
enable
a
Sensitive
Content
Warning
in
Privacy
&
Security
settings.
They
will
then
be
protected
against
unwanted
exposure
to
adult
content.
Apple
insists
that
all
image
and
video
processing
for
the
system
takes
place
on
the
device.

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About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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