Comments on: Security folk often carry Macs, is that an endorsement? http://www.cigital.com/justice-league-blog/2009/03/16/security-folk-often-carry-macs-is-that-an-endorsement/ Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:50:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: gem http://www.cigital.com/justice-league-blog/2009/03/16/security-folk-often-carry-macs-is-that-an-endorsement/#comment-146 gem Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:15:44 +0000 http://www.cigital.com/justiceleague/?p=148#comment-146 From the department of stuff from 2005, I present: Is Your Mac Really More Secure? (April 2005: IT Architect) http://www.cigital.com/papers/download/0504sec.macs.pdf Damn marketshare takes a long time to gin up. gem From the department of stuff from 2005, I present:

Is Your Mac Really More Secure? (April 2005: IT Architect)
http://www.cigital.com/papers/download/0504sec.macs.pdf

Damn marketshare takes a long time to gin up.

gem

]]> By: Andre Gironda http://www.cigital.com/justice-league-blog/2009/03/16/security-folk-often-carry-macs-is-that-an-endorsement/#comment-145 Andre Gironda Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:06:57 +0000 http://www.cigital.com/justiceleague/?p=148#comment-145 Don't worry. We'll all be even less secure when we're running VMware View clients off cloudbooks to Mac OS X, Linux, or Windows 7 thin-client desktops. Platforms planned for future attacks by motivated adversaries are the web and the cloud. These are the areas we need to worry most about. If there are motivated adversaries for Mac OS X, they better move fast. There isn't a lot of botnet-spreading malware today, and Snow Leopard (especially combined with Apple's easily forced hardware+software upgrade path) will add plenty of new controls. Many third-party products on Mac OS X (the Microsoft ones as an example) implement a lot of strong controls -- the very least at the compiler layer. New books such as "The Mac Hacker's Handbook" do up the game a bit, but usually full-disclosure and awareness tend to have an overall good effect on security for these less-popular platforms. While Apple continues to ice on security instead of baking it in, we'd all appreciate a spokesperson and strong security team to emerge. Certainly, everyone agrees with you on this point. As for why security-nerds tend to roll with the MacBooks and MacBook Pros (and iPhones), I think this comes from a desire to achieve security through defense-in-diversity. Unfortunately, this tends to have a reverse effect. The best strategy is one you suggest: owning and operating multiple platforms. To be able to switch between Terminal, Cygwin, and a Linux window-manager with rxvt and bash prompt is certainly a valuable skill to bring into any environment. Knowing the basics of VBScript, Powershell, Applescript, NT/Unix shells, and the common set of scripting languages (i.e. Ruby, Python, Perl, Tcl, Awk, Lua, CLIST, REXX) almost defines the contending modern security professional. Sorry... forgot to say great post - can't wait to read your next one! Don’t worry. We’ll all be even less secure when we’re running VMware View clients off cloudbooks to Mac OS X, Linux, or Windows 7 thin-client desktops.

Platforms planned for future attacks by motivated adversaries are the web and the cloud. These are the areas we need to worry most about.

If there are motivated adversaries for Mac OS X, they better move fast. There isn’t a lot of botnet-spreading malware today, and Snow Leopard (especially combined with Apple’s easily forced hardware+software upgrade path) will add plenty of new controls. Many third-party products on Mac OS X (the Microsoft ones as an example) implement a lot of strong controls — the very least at the compiler layer. New books such as “The Mac Hacker’s Handbook” do up the game a bit, but usually full-disclosure and awareness tend to have an overall good effect on security for these less-popular platforms.

While Apple continues to ice on security instead of baking it in, we’d all appreciate a spokesperson and strong security team to emerge. Certainly, everyone agrees with you on this point.

As for why security-nerds tend to roll with the MacBooks and MacBook Pros (and iPhones), I think this comes from a desire to achieve security through defense-in-diversity.

Unfortunately, this tends to have a reverse effect. The best strategy is one you suggest: owning and operating multiple platforms. To be able to switch between Terminal, Cygwin, and a Linux window-manager with rxvt and bash prompt is certainly a valuable skill to bring into any environment. Knowing the basics of VBScript, Powershell, Applescript, NT/Unix shells, and the common set of scripting languages (i.e. Ruby, Python, Perl, Tcl, Awk, Lua, CLIST, REXX) almost defines the contending modern security professional.
Sorry… forgot to say great post – can’t wait to read your next one!

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