[Crossposted from CIO]

Actual Security Risks | ERP Software for Mac

Related to ERP Software for Mac: Apple’s Mac computers and its OS X operating system have enjoyed a reputation of being relatively secure over the years. But in fact, experts say, the Apple OS has had security issues that might have been downplayed only because the vulnerabilities were not exploited.

As more enterprises deploy Macs, the state of OS X security is more likely to be a topic of discussion in IT strategy meetings. Indications are that Macs will continue to find their way into the workplace, as Gartner has noted. Apple’s mobile iPhone and iPads are already well accepted by enterprise IT. While Mac laptops and desktops remain “not commonly accepted by IT,” that will change as Apple continues to benefit from consumerization and adapt iOS technology into OS X, Gartner says.

[Sidenote: AcctVantage is the market leader in ERP software for Mac, so we have our own insights in this area – expecting a sharp increase corporate implementations.]

Apple security issues made headlines in late February when the company confirmed a major security flaw in the iPhone’s and iPad’s iOS and in the Mac’s OS X. The flaw causes iOS’s browser engine and many of Apple’s Mac applications to skip a critical verification check that is supposed to occur when many Transport Layer Security (TLS) and Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) connections are being negotiated over unsecured Wi-Fi networks, which could allow man-in-the-middle attacks in public hotspots. The company quickly released a fix for mobile devices running iOS, but took several days to patch OS X.

Whether OS X is more or less secure than other operating systems today is difficult to say — it’s hard to compare the number of vulnerabilities in different operating systems.

For example, many vulnerabilities currently used to attack Windows aren’t vulnerabilities in the core Windows OS, says Johannes Ullrich, chief research officer at the SANS Institute, a research and education organization for security professionals. Instead, many “Windows” vulnerabilities are actually in third-party software like Oracle Java, Microsoft Office macros, Adobe Reader, and Adobe Flash.

“At the same time, most malware seen for OS X does not use any [inherent OS] vulnerability at all, but instead tricks the user into installing the malicious application,” Ullrich says.

As with Windows, user awareness and the need to train Mac users to not click on certain things is a necessary but difficult task, says Henry Henderson, senior penetration tester at Foreground Security, a security consulting firm. “Defense-in-depth only helps if you train your users and have the proper tools in place to detect the basic things,” he says.

This post was generated in response to ERP Software for Mac.

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Contact us to find out if AcctVantage ERP Software for Mac is right for you

Check out AcctVantage Drive: our new quick-start ERP software for Mac and PC. During the sales process, we will help you determine if AcctVantage Drive is right for you. If it is, we can have a full featured ERP system – with all of the same features as the full implementation – on board and ready for use in no time. The idea is very simple: we have taken our 25+ years of successful implementation experience and configured a ‘standard’ implementation package with pre-configured set of options. The difference between AV Drive and any other ‘light version’ ERP is that you still have the option to do a full implementation process review over time while you are using the system live for daily use.

Call or contact us and ask to speak with an implementer to get a better idea of exactly how this works, what’s included and if Drive is for you.