According to a report by AtlasVPN that focuses on cybersecurity, nearly 380 new security vulnerabilities were discovered and exploited in the Apple ecosystem in the second half of 2021. This figure represents an increase of 467% compared to 2020 .

Safari is the service with the most vulnerabilities

The report says the majority of the vulnerabilities exploit Safari , the default web browser on Apple devices, as well as the operating system itself. Widely used by Apple, interconnectivity is pointed out, because it facilitates the passage from one device to another, and therefore makes it possible to multiply the impact of vulnerabilities. The researchers specify that “all Apple software is interchangeable and connected, […] a single vulnerability found can generally affect all devices” .

Among the 380 vulnerabilities discovered on the side of Apple devices, one of them (CVE-2021-30858) received a score of 8.8 on the risk scale. It targets iPhones and iPads running iOS 14.8, as well as Macs running macOS Big Sur 11.6. This flaw allows executing arbitrary code, and thus infiltrating malware as well as ransomware to recover personal data or login credentials. The only way to protect against vulnerabilities is to update affected devices as soon as possible.

Google and Microsoft still top the rankings

Despite its increase of 467% in 1 year, Apple only occupies 3rd place in the ranking of vulnerabilities, still dominated by Google (511 vulnerabilities) and Microsoft (428 vulnerabilities). The report indicates that the vulnerabilities detected on the Google side mainly come from Android, as well as the Google Chrome web browser . On the Microsoft side, there are flaws in certain versions of Windows, but also in the Office suite as well as in Microsoft Edge .