Apple Executive Faults Mac Security to Keep Grip on IPhone App

(Bloomberg) -- Apple Inc.’s top software engineer criticized the security of his own Mac operating system in a bid to explain why the company shouldn’t be forced by a judge to loosen its hold over iPhone and iPad app distribution, as Epic Games Inc. is demanding.

Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering, testified at a trial in federal court in Oakland that his experience with imported malware on the macOS system shows how security would be eroded if the company allowed iPhone and iPad users to install software from the web or other stores, as it does on the Mac.

“Today we have a level of malware on the Mac that we don’t find acceptable,” primarily because the system allows users to install software that isn’t vetted by Apple, Federighi said. That makes it less secure than iOS and iPadOS, the operating systems that power the iPhone and iPad, he said.

Allowing apps from other stores or places on the iPhone would create a “very, very bad situation for our customers,” including “a huge decrease in their safety,” Federighi said. He also said iPhones and iPads have security protections, including the App Store review process, to keep the products away from malware.

Federighi said that the rival Android operating system, which allows third-party stores, faces similar security challenges. “It’s well understood in the security community that Android has a malware problem.” Apple’s iOS, on the other hand, has succeeded in blocking malware, he said.

Earlier in the trial, Epic tried to position the Mac and iPhone and iPad platforms as having the same security protections, meaning that if installing software from third-party stores on the Mac is allowable, it should be allowed on the iPhone and iPad as well.

Federighi said the total Mac user base is less than one-tenth of the size of the overall iPhone and iPad install base, which is estimated to be over a billion active devices.

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