![]() ![]() ![]() Among the new features were support for Cisco IPSec VPNs, Wi-Fi support for WPA2 Enterprise and 802.1x authentication, configuration profiles for enforcing security policies, and the ability for a company to remotely wipe (erase) an employee’s lost or stolen iPhone. For some, this lessened the desire to hack one’s own iPhone to install unapproved third-party software nevertheless, the jailbreaking community continues to have its devotees even today.Īpple added a number of security improvements to the iPhone 2.0 software, with a primary focus on making the iPhone a more viable option for enterprise businesses. Macworld reported that the iPhone 2.0 software (later renamed “iPhone OS” for its 2.2 release) included a single new built-in app: the App Store. Prior to the iPhone 2.0 software release, there were a total of four security updates for the original iPhone OS, fixing a combined total of 22 security vulnerabilities (note: vulnerability counts in this article are based on CVE IDs). Little did anyone know then what security challenges lay in store for mobile operating systems.Īlthough there was no App Store yet, and thus there were no officially sanctioned third-party applications, the original iPhone included “a rich HTML email client and Safari - the most advanced web browser ever on a portable device,” which unbeknownst to most users made the phone vulnerable to a variety of potential attacks.īy the time the iPhone was just months old and the iPod touch had just been released, there was already a small community of hackers and tinkerers making and distributing unauthorized third-party apps.Īpple’s first attempt at squashing this phenomenon arrived in the form of the iPhone 1.1.1 Update, about which one developer noted, “It looks like Apple is locking down the iPhone with encryption and signing, the same way they locked down the iPod Touch.” After all, it was amazing and revolutionary, so what else really mattered? For its time, the original iPhone was far more advanced than any other smartphone on the market, so few people bothered worrying about things like security. The iPhone was the first of what we now know as “iOS devices.” However, when the iPhone was announced, Apple had yet to come up with a name for its new mobile operating system in fact, you might be surprised to learn that Apple actually called iOS “OS X” at first.Īpple had little to say about the security of the first iPhone. With each major revision, along with incremental security updates, Apple has continued to improve the baseline security of its mobile operating system.įollowing is a timeline of some notable security improvements that Apple has made in every version of iOS to date. To help protect its customers and combat some of these threats, Apple has added many security and privacy-enhancing features to iOS since its initial release nearly nine years ago. ![]() Users of Apple’s smartphone and tablet have also been targets of fraud, identity theft, and espionage campaigns - just like users of desktops and laptops. Exploits that can take advantage of iOS are out there in the wild, and even Apple’s ostensibly “safe” App Store has been penetrated with questionable and malicious software on several occasions ( the XcodeGhost debacle is just one example). In spite of the iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch being known for their locked-down nature and “walled garden” app ecosystem, iOS devices are not as perfectly safe as we might like to believe. Google’s Android isn’t the only mobile platform with security problems. We recently published a story covering the evolution of macOS security and privacy features, where we discussed the major security improvements over the past decade in OS X, Apple’s operating system for Mac desktops and laptops.Īs with desktop operating systems, the ever-changing threat landscape has also necessitated the evolution of mobile operating systems, including iOS. Apple + Recommended + Security & Privacy The Evolution of iOS Security and Privacy Features ![]()
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