Docker Needs Privileged Access Software For Things

The importance of managing privileged access on a macOS device is also gaining parity with that of Windows devices in compliance frameworks.

As macOS grows more prevalent amongst organizations, threat actors have taken notice.

Exploits targeting Apples operating system increasingly yield good returns for threat actors.

Today, privileged access security deficiencies usually lie at the heart of macOS security breaches.

Reports and disclosures of vulnerabilities and macOS exploits are no longer uncommon news.

Today, many organizations confront a trade-off between the benefits of offering employees their choice of operating system, and the potential security gaps they may be unwittingly introducing.

This is not to say macOS is unproven; it is more a reflection of gaps introduced when an industry of security experts who have focused on Microsoft technology is pushed to transition and up-skill in new technology.

In many cases, the native macOS platform tools may not be comprehensive enough, and homegrown tools unique to each organization rarely scale.

We will also cover common macOS security approaches, challenges, and pitfalls found in many organizations today.

Apple has proven itself a force to be reckoned with in the business world, just as it is amongst consumers in the personal computing space.

However, momentum for Macs continues to erode this once rigid adherence to Windows-only IT stacks across enterprise, non-profit, and public agency environments.

MacOS devices were once only seen in relatively young companies that lacked legacy infrastructure baggage, but the tide is quickly turning.

In fact, a recently published Parallels survey reported that 55.7 of small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) now use or permit the use of Macs.

Consequently, the attention of IT organizations, long enjoyed by Windows, is now being cast towards macOS.

While organizations tend to invest ample human and financial resources in securing their Wintel environments, this same diligence is often not applied equally across macOS environments.

Often, large security gaps are inadvertently created in the interest of deploying Mac devices quickly, especially to VIP users who may overrule concerns regarding security.

The uptick in macOS security-related tools, features, and high-profile macOS endpoint security incidents over the last few years has reflected this.

This is evidenced by their development or enhancement of native OS tools, such as System Integrity Protection (SIP), Gatekeeper, read-only system volumes, and their effort to kick developers out of the kernel (the Endpoint Security System Extension) in recent years.

Many macOS sysadmins are painfully aware of security and privacy changes made in Catalina.

Docker Needs Privileged Access Software For Things

Apples macOS Catalina enforced granular permission sets on third-party software for things like file system access, screen sharing, etc., which often require administrative privileges to approve.

While there are architecture-specific nuances to any attack chain, the basics remain the same.

Unless an attacker can exploit a privilege escalation vulnerability, malware looks to gain persistence.

This ideally accomplished through access to a privileged user or a vulnerability in a privileged application plugin or framework.

Docker For Mac Needs Privileged Access