OS X has long been heralded as one of the more secure operating systems on the market. Many have spoken about its excellent security and lack of viruses in the past. Whether you believe it to be true or you argue that OS X’s security has more to do with obscurity than anything else doesn’t really matter; a lot of people are running their Macs protection free. That’s a problem no matter how you slice it.
Apple takes security seriously, and they have a very good track record when it comes to getting patches out quick when compared to other major players in the market. According to reports today, Apple’s approached a number of security professionals, in the hope that they’ll take Apple’s latest developer build of OS X 10.7 for a spin before it goes public.
With OS X 10.7 set to be released this spring, Apple’s clearly looking to make sure that their operating system is as secure as it should be before it’s released. According to AppleInsider, Apple’s approached Dino Dai Zovi, Stefan Esser, and Charlie Miller to put the operating system through the security paces.
Miller’s on record as telling CNET that
“as far as I know they have never reached out to security researchers in this way. Also, we won’t have to pay for it like everybody else. It’s not hiring us to do pen-tests of it, but at least it’s not total isolation anymore, and at least security crosses their mind now.”
If true, this is definitely a new direction for the company. Apple has historically avoided letting third-party researchers analyze their software before it ships. Frankly, it makes a lot of sense that Apple’s heading in this direction. Why wouldn’t you want some of the more gifted security experts in the field looking at your operating system before it ships? The more secure, the better.
Article Via AppleInsider
