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Blessed are the Geeks, for they shall internet the earth |
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Why Hack A Mac? By Erik Hansen   Are
Macs the quintessential security juggernaut as they claim to be, or are they
not as enticing as their PC counterparts to hackers? Apple claims to have a
firm grip on computer security and promise safe computers to their end
users, but the real truth is hackers can't be bothered with computers that
have no data of use to them.Overall Apple has done a superb job in trying to keep on top of the ongoing security battle. They have increased the manpower on security over the years, and have been very good at releasing security updates days after a visible hole in security, as PC security often take months to respond with an update. The increase in security by Apple has been more because of necessity then being savvy. Since the introduction of Apple's new generation of operating system OS X, they have been trying to keep their reputation as secure because by going to a Unix based system, they have made themselves more vulnerable to the hackers already familiar with Unix code. One thing Apple did do in their infinite wisdom is ship out the new machines with OS X with the most advanced communication tools turned off by default. The other Unix operating systems leave these communication ports open making them more susceptible to attacks. Apple recognizes the fact that most people buying their machines are not technically knowledgeable enough to know how to turn these ports off and saves them from vulnerabilities other operating systems forget to address. One idea Apple incorporated into their operating system but lacked to polish off in development was the built-in firewall. To make the firewall useful to the core software you have to change its settings through the command line, something 99.9% of end-users know nothing about. This is unlike apple, a program without a beautiful graphic interface, buried in the command line. It also would have been nice for apple to ship OS X with the firewall turned on for idiot users, after all, isn't that who the market themselves to? So why haven't we heard about any security breakdowns on Mac systems since the introduction of OSX? Simply put why would a hacker care about a Mac? In the corporate world, the computers that make hackers drool are PC's, full of useful information, email passwords, company information, and important files. The Macs are limited to the Marketing department, graphic designers and web developers creating advertising material for the public. Until companies begin to use the new OS X servers Apple has been praying will take off, Mac's will not be useful enough to a hacker. ErikHansen@thenetworkadministrator.com |
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