For years, Apple marketed the Mac as “more secure,” and the idea stuck because the machines often fit the bill: with a smaller share of targets, attackers turned their attention elsewhere. Since then, the landscape has evolved considerably. From coffee shops and airport lounges, to co-working spaces, Macs can be rather ubiquitous these days. Unfortunately, this means that it’s drawing even more attention from a variety of people, including bad actors, criminals and researchers alike.
To give Apple credit, macOS still ships with one of the strongest consumer security baselines, but today’s risks come from everyday activities, such as travel, public Wi-Fi always-on cloud apps and an ecosystem of threats that are ever evolving. Security in 2025 is about knowing where Apple’s protections shine, where they don’t and ensuring common sense prevails above all.
A Few of Apple’s Strengths: Gatekeeper, Safari and More
When it comes to macOS security in 2025, Apple has a number of great strengths: FileVault, XProtect, Gatekeeper, Notarization features, Safari privacy features and iCloud Private Relay. Starting with FileVault, the program encrypts full volumes through the AES-XTS algorithm, with key handling isolated within the Secure Enclave on Apple silicon and T2 Macs, so keys are never exposed to the CPU. In theory, a lost Mac will yield no readable data. According to Apple’s open documentation, it stresses that encryption keys are stored within secure hardware, leaving brute-force attacks to be impractical.
Gatekeeper helps verify downloaded apps, even ensuring that ones downloaded outside of the App Store are notarized and signed. This helps screen for any potential malware, and XProtect also adds signature checks behind-the-scenes. Apple regularly updates these checks. Between XProtect and Gatekeeper, these two alone help prevent a large share of opportunistic attacks.
For Safari, Intelligent Tracking Prevention utilizes machine learning to help limit cross-site tracking and fingerprinting. Private Relay, which is a part of iCloud+, also works with Safari by routing traffic through two relays, which means no single part is able to see both your IP and the destination. The only downside is that Safari isn’t available in all countries.
Where Apple’s Defenses Falter
The old adage that Macs don’t get viruses is a thing of the past. In 2024 alone, independent researchers tracked 22 new macOS malware families. This is almost double the stats over 2022. Malwarebytes reports that while 11% of Mac detections were true malware – such as ransomware, spyware and information stealers – yet the majority was adware and potentially unwanted programs. While some malicious apps may not encrypt files, they can perform damaging actions such as flooding users with pop-ups, hijacking browsers and harvesting data undetected.
Here’s a key example of a modern Mac threat: Shamos. Documented by Crowdstrike in mid-2025, Shamos is a new variant of the Atomic macOS Stealer that has ties to the criminal group Cookie Spider. Being distributed by fake developer pages and malicious ads, Shamos is capable of stealing data from browsers, iCloud Keychains, crypto wallets and more. Getting rid of it can be a nightmare, and Shamos can also implement follow-up payloads. Here, the lesson is that even technically savvy users can fall prey to malicious “fixes” shared online.
Let’s also not forget about the “Sploitlight” incident. In March 2025, researchers at Microsoft found a plugin vulnerability in Spotlight which was capable of bypassing Transparency, Consent and Control protections in macOS (CVE-2025-31199). The flaw was capable of exposing sensitive files, including caches used by Apple Intelligence. Apple quickly patched the issues, but it proved core system tools can be high-value targets.
Lastly, remember that public Wi-Fi networks, including those at the airport or a hotel, can be perfect for “evil twin” attacks. This is where an attacker mimics a legitimate hotspot, with a user connecting to it without realizing their data is going to a hostile system.. It’s a continuously ongoing problem, and macOS does not automatically encrypt traffic against it.
Staying Safe, Staying Up to Date
Apple has been proactive with updates. In August, the company provided a patch for CVE-2025-43300, a memory corruption bug in ImageIO that could be triggered by malicious image files and was already exploited in the wild. Earlier in May, Apple shipped a record patch covering over 30 vulnerabilities in CoreMedia, WebKit and ImageIO. Making sure you have automatic updates enabled can be crucial, as attackers and hackers frequently weaponize common files formats. If not, remember to update frequently and check often via Settings > General > Software Update.
Where Apple Needs Help: Additional Tools
Apple’s default protections are stronger than what Windows or Linux users get out of the box. But layered defenses matter:
- VPNs: Only Safari uses Private Relay. A VPN encrypts all traffic from the device, protecting non-Safari apps, mitigating ISP logging and reducing exposure on untrusted Wi-Fi. Many now include tracker and ad-blocking functions.
- Ad-blockers: Since adware and browser hijackers are the most common Mac threats, content blocking adds a vital protective layer against malicious ads and extensions.
- Password Managers: iCloud Keychain continues to improve, but dedicated managers offer breach alerts, dark web monitoring and better cross-platform support. Additionally, you can use this free password generator tool from XVPN to create strong passwords.
- Endpoint Protection: For users who download apps outside the App Store, a security suite can help detect heuristics-based malware and phishing.
Traveling and The Human Factor
At home, behind a router you control, Apple offers enough security to cover most threats. On the road, those assumptions fall to the wayside. Airports, hotels and conferences all present hostile networks. A VPN with integrated ad-blocking offers continuity: encrypted connections across all apps and filtering of risky content before it reaches the browser. For digital nomads and frequent travelers, these layers have become essential.
The guardrails within macOS are strong, but attackers rely on human error. Social engineered threats are still one of the most effects path for bad actors. From fake software updates, malicious extensionsm or Terminal commands shared in forums, sometimes the best attack is the one that’s the most simple. As security researcher Patrick Wardle notes, Apple provides strong technical guardrails, but “you can’t automate common sense.”
Looking Ahead: The Future of Updates
At WWDC 2025, Apple announced macOS 26 Tahoe and confirmed the end of Intel Mac support. Only a handful of Intel machines will run Tahoe, and future Apple Intelligence features will be exclusive to Apple silicon. This is a big deal, as: new protections will be designed for Apple’s chips first, leaving Intel systems with only minimum, patch-level support.
Browser updates are just as critical. Recently, Google confirmed Chrome 138 will be the final version for macOS Big Sur. Safari dropped support before Google did. Anyone stuck on mac OS 11 Big Sur or older faces the risk of running an unpatched browser, and that’s one of the easiest ways to be compromised.
The Bottom Line
In 2025, macOS will remain one of the most secure consumer operating systems by default, thanks to features like FileVault, SIP, Gatekeeper and Safari’s protections. But attackers and bad actors are adapting and growing wiser, with new malware families like Shamos, vulnerabilities in core tools like Spotlight and zero-days in common file formats.
Apple has built a fortress of security, but the best defense today has layers. A VPN to encrypt traffic, an ad-blocker to help reduce exposure, a password manager to strengthen identity and a commitment to patching and updating promptly. For professionals, travelers and anyone relying on Macs as their primary machine, finishing what Apple started is no longer optional. It’s how you stay ahead.
