David Hanak According to Forbes magazine, Apple is planning to launch a special program whose aim will be to reveal security flaws in two of its operating systems – iOS and macOS. The official announcement and launch of this program will take place at the Black Hat security conference, which addresses the security of various operating systems and is currently underway.
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Dan Pražák Apple did not offer a so-called bug-hunting program for macOS, something similar already runs on iOS. An official program for both systems will now be launched, in which security experts from around the world will be able to participate. Apple will provide select individuals with specially modified iPhones that should make it easier to find various vulnerabilities in the operating software.
The special iPhones will be similar to developer versions of the phone that are not locked down like regular retail versions and allow access to deeper subsystems of the operating system. Security experts will thus be able to monitor in detail even the smallest iOS activities, at the lowest level of the iOS kernel. This will make it easier for them to search for potential anomalies that could lead to security or other deficiencies. However, the level of unlocking of such iPhones will not be completely identical to the developer prototypes. Apple does not let security experts see completely under the hood.
Not so long ago we wrote that there is a lot of interest in such devices in the security and research community. Because it is developer prototypes that enable the search for functional security exploits that cannot be found and tested on classic sales items. The black market for similar iPhones is booming, so Apple decided to regulate it a little by having the company itself take care of distributing similar devices to selected people.
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In addition to the above, Apple is also planning to launch a new bug-bounty program for finding errors on the macOS platform. Experts who participate in this program will be financially motivated to find bugs in the operating system and ultimately help Apple with its tuning. The specific form of the program is not yet clear, but usually the amount of the financial reward depends on how serious the error is found by the person in question. Apple is expected to release more information about both programs on Thursday, when the Black Hat conference ends.
Source: Macrumors
