COMMENTARY: Apple’s products have gained momentum across enterprise networks over the past several years. According to an IDC study, more than 45% of organizations have some presence of macOS in their IT environments. The growing enterprise footprint of Apple’s operating system stems partly from its Unix-based architecture and Apple’s stringent security practices that for many years carried a sheen of solid protection.
However, this perception can make organizations slow to recognize and address potential security gaps in Macs used by employees. Adware, scareware, ransomware, zero-days, and supply chain attacks on these systems have piggybacked on users’ overconfidence in their built-in defenses for years. Ultimately, the myth of a malware-proof Mac creates a false sense of security that backfires on the company unless the IT team takes proactive action.
Why Mac protection became an afterthought
One reason these security issues go unnoticed has been the smaller attack surface of macOS compared to Windows, with Microsoft machines still dominating the enterprise landscape. This has historically made Macs less attractive targets for cybercriminals. The increasing adoption of these machines in businesses has incentivized attackers to ramp-up efforts developing macOS-specific exploits.
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Additionally, Apple’s security model heavily relies on users applying updates and configuring their systems properly. It’s difficult to achieve this prerequisite in organizations that lack centralized endpoint management. As a result, misconfigurations or delayed patches create hidden risks.
Security teams need to start by realizing that macOS systems are far cry from invulnerable to cyber threats. The other half boils down to identifying where potential gaps exist in the environment – whether it’s an untested backup or a bypassed security feature – and taking actionable steps to close them. Let’s go over these loopholes and mitigations:
- Safari and WebKit vulnerabilities: The Safari browser’s WebKit engine often sits on the receiving end of zero-day exploits. Attackers can use malicious websites or JavaScript-based payloads to bypass macOS security layers and execute arbitrary code. Since Safari has become so deeply ingrained into macOS, such exploits lead to broader compromise potentially affecting the entire enterprise network. Organizations should encourage the use of alternative, security-hardened browsers or implement strict web filtering policies to reduce exposure.
- Lax control over launch agents and daemons: The macOS lets applications and services run with specified privileges through background processes called launch agents and daemons, which attackers can weaponize for persistence. If the organization doesn’t monitor these, threat actors can insert malicious scripts that execute every time a user logs in or the system starts. To prevent this exploitation, IT should regularly audit these startup mechanisms and restrict modifications through security policies.
- Weak backup validation: The evolution of file-encrypting Mac ransomware, from rudimentary KeRanger to sophisticated NotLockBit, underscores the importance of proper backup hygiene in the enterprise. The team may have deployed backups, but they are useless if loosely maintained or corrupted. This gap will cripple recovery efforts when disaster strikes. To avoid such a scenario, the security team must test backups at least quarterly, diversify storage (on-site and cloud), and consider tools for Mac data recovery as part of a Plan B when backups fail.
- Misconfigured mobile device management profiles: While MDM tools help enforce security policies, especially in environments that increasingly integrate the BYOD philosophy, misconfigurations can create loopholes. If an attacker gains access to an MDM-enrolled device, they can potentially remove or modify security profiles and thereby expand the attack surface to other tiers of the organization’s network. Ensuring that these profiles are locked, regularly audited, and protected with strong authentication can thwart unauthorized changes.
- Flaws in the Gatekeeper bypass protection: The Gatekeeper feature was designed to prevent the execution of untrusted applications on a Mac, but cybercriminals have found ways to get around it using specially crafted payloads. For instance, the Achilles vulnerability from 2022 let malicious apps circumvent Gatekeeper’s verification process, effectively tricking macOS into running unsigned code. As a barrier to these attacks, the organization should enforce additional controls, such as deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR) tools and restricting app execution via MDM policies.
Addressing these vulnerabilities isn’t just about plugging holes: it’s about creating a culture of preparedness. Regular audits, employee training, layered defenses, and security compliance monitoring can transform overlooked risks into managed ones. Once this becomes a well-oiled routine, organizations just have to stay the course.
David Balaban, owner, Privacy-PC
SC Media Perspectives columns are written by a trusted community of SC Media cybersecurity subject matter experts. Each contribution has a goal of bringing a unique voice to important cybersecurity topics. Content strives to be of the highest quality, objective and non-commercial.
