Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) gave its attendees at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas a glance at its security practices, just few hours before it acquired a security firm Authentec.
Apple platform security team manager Dallas De Atley while speaking to a near-capacity crowd, described how Apple IOS relies on a complex set of hardware encryption and access keys to prevent any malware from accessing the core components of the company’s mobile OS.
The iPhone maker, Apple Inc. has agreed to acquire AuthenTec, a mobile security company at price of $356 million in cash, according to an agreement. AAPL will pay AuthenTec’s shareholders $8 per share, a 60 percent premium that is above Thursday’s closing price.
The deal of Apple Inc. with security firm Authentec will put a small dent in Apple’s cash supply, which stood at more than $117 billion at last count. AuthenTec, is a security firm which designs security products for mobile devices like fingerprint sensors, that could benefit Apple Inc (AAPL) to bolster the security of its products, which have been major targets for malicious software attacks.
According to Friday’s filling details, if AuthenTec opts for a superior bid from a rival company, it will go to pay Apple Inc $10.95 million. However, if the deal does not close because of antitrust probes, then Apple will be liable to pay AuthenTec $20 million.
AuthenTec builds security checks into IOS from the kernel itself, by running a series of checks necessary before the activation of device, the display and other hardware components, then runs some additional security checks before loading other software components.
This would aid the iOS devices to check for possible issues in the firmware and OS and allow the device to activate recovery alerts and procedures.
The process of checks and imprints are extended to system updates as well. Every desired software update includes a security check with Apple to verify the firmware and personalise the installation for each device, effectively to prevent an attacker from downgrading a device to an older version, or more vulnerable firmware version.
Apple Inc. always care for its customers and has also made encryption a central component to its security approach. It is using hardware-based encryption, the tech company also claimed that it is able to save battery life and reduce the processor load, while also laying the foundation for a complex series of checks and access keys before complete loading.
