Development of iOS security

In today’s mobile application development, mobile security has been of great concern recently when there are more and more spywares and malware attacking mobile devices no matter what platforms. It’s also the physical security to keep your devices safe for the lock-in. So, what do you know about iOS security and the further Android’s?

How safe is iOS?

All the applications in Apple App Store must be examined before being made available to customers, which helps to protect iOS users from the infection of malware. As the most important criterion, Apple App Store guarantees customers with applications tested and validated by Apple. iOS operating system is assumed to provide fewer vulnerabilities because Apple doesn’t make API’s available to developers. iOS apps can only be distributed through the Apple store.

Permission-based access control

When downloading an application or start using it, the application may ask to get accessed to your protected features ( such as current location, address book, contact list, personal Photo Library, etc), there will be a dialog box in the middle of the app and ask the users to decide whether to allow the access or not. in most cases , Mobile application developers fail to deliver the app to customer if the access is denied.

Geolocation

Apple provides customers with the feature Geolocation which help to locate your phone when it’s lost.

Auto Erase

In case your phone is lost or stolen, your data can be erased from the device to secure your privacy. And if you get the device back, data can also be restored from the backups on your desktop. Once you enable the feature, anyone attempts to lock in your device after 10 failed passcode will automatically erase data from your device.

Drawback of iOS security

In spite of strict and well-done security systems, iOS still has some weaknesses. For example, Apple releases update quite constantly to fix bug, add features and improve the quality of iOS operating system. That’s the reason why iOS users have to keep their devices updated with the renovation. In case your device runs an OS lower than the version 4.3.5, there is more likelihood that it will be attacked by a flaw called SSL MITM, which hackers use to exploit. If your device category isn’t allowed to upgrade to this version, it’s very dangerous that it can be permanently exploitable. Or, if iOS users jailbreak their phones to make use of more functions, free applications and change the inside structure of the phone for more interesting features, their devices will be more vulnerable to malware.

Siri – Apple’s digital assistant

iOS operating system has reached their security spotlight in mobile technology development. Apple has laid out the steps that balance the effectiveness of service with the privacy and security of its users. Siri operates on Apple’s own server and supports Apple with offloading the toughest aspects of its functionality, such as common task iOS users all know: analyze your voice and audio into actionable text and help the service to be updated outside of iOS’s traditional upgrade cycle.

How Siri can help you with the security? “Progressive disclosure” is the tool developed by Apple to limit the information that reaches its server. Information like locations or transcriptions are discarded after ten minutes, while recordings are kept up to several years.

Overall, having an idea how iOS security is can help you with choosing the appropriate operating system. Keep your devices protected from evil intention.

-Source: Development of iOS security