Contrary to the common man belief that 'Windows is very insecure', Microsoft has been very proactive in security. Apple iOS has a great deal of security too, it is described in its building from scratch in the iOS security document. Here are the few points I found great for mention. Here's a small video which has the debate on.
Watch video[9 min]:
(Read more: Top 5 Big Data Vulnerability Classes)
Microsoft(Windows)
- Have made great changes in terms of security eg. Security Development Lifecycle (SDL), considered Industry model
- Bluepill attack ineffective in Windows 8 - due to installation of an empty hypervisor and alert on other hypervisor installation
- Windows 8 x64 also removed backward support for documents-caused as source for bugs
- UEFI, an alternative for BIOS which overcomes certain BIOS limitations eg.prevents Bootkit attacks
- Secure Boot verifies Windows OS is not compromised
- Pwn2Own (hacker competition) - Lately Windows has been the hardest to compromise
- Windows is doing great at preventing zero-day attacks& verifying kernel modifications
Apple(iOS)
- Jail breaking has become very difficult
- Admin rights reserved, so attackers cannot exploit privilege escalations
- Admin rights reserved is also a great step for enterprise security as Apple security expert can be trusted more than any common user
- Isolation of applications- apps are signed,verified and sandboxed
- Secure Boot Chain - allows iOS to run on validates Apple devices
- Secure Enclave(A7 or later Aseries) - allows data integration even if Kernel is compromised
- UID(unique ID) & GID(group ID)-i.e. encryption AES 256 keys fused in application processor, not allowing any software/firmware to read it directly
- Keychain Data Protection
- FIPS 140-2, iOS 8 cryptographic modules (U.S. compliance validation) that will validate integrity of Apple apps and third party apps properly using iOS cryptography services.
* We have mentioned a few, this is a suggestive list not binding, there are various other features.
What are best security specs in your favorite mobile OS- Windows or iOS ?
(Read more: Cyber Safety in Cars and Medical Devices)
Comments