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What is the big picture when it comes to Apple security? Is OS X safe enough to be a viable contender for running public Web sites and general enterprise applications?To many Mac users, the recent news report of an Apple OS X security vulnerability seemed like an anomaly. While Windows users are greeted almost weekly with a new virus or worm, OS X users tend to view their systems as impervious to such concerns.

The steady stream of Windows bugs is a phenomenon far removed from their computing experience — or so it seems. But the late February security report cast Apple in a new light.

Chris Adams, a systems administrator in San Diego, discovered a flaw in the Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), a tool in OS X 10.3, code-named “Panther.” AFP enables a secure connection using the secure shell (SSH) protocol. The flaw is in AFP’s warning mechanism: Users may request a secure connection, but Panther will not warn users if the connection is in fact not a secure one. So, a user may send sensitive information — like passwords — on an insecure connection, not knowing that they are using an easily hacked protocol.

In short, the flaw is similar to a host of Windows flaws, suggesting that the concept of Apple invulnerability may be closer to myth than fact. That said, What is the big picture when it comes to Apple security? Is OS X safe enough to be a viable contender for running public Web sites and general enterprise applications?

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