Apple issued an apology to Mac users for the epic fail of the macOS High Sierra root access flaw. The company also told Reuters it is auditing its internal development processes to make sure this kind of buffoonery never happens again.
The statement issued to Reuters:
We greatly regret this error and we apologize to all Mac users. Our customers deserve better. We are auditing our development processes to help prevent this from happening again.
macOS High Sierra Root Access Flaw
On Wednesday, the scariest Mac vulnerability I’ve seen was publicly announced on Twitter. That vulnerability allowed anyone with access to your Mac to log in as root without a password. Root access gives someone unlimited control over every aspect of your Macs.
Apple quickly responded with a patch Thursday morning, and the company told Reuters it would auto-install on Macs later in the day. We recommend you actively install it ASAP if it hasn’t already.
This story has hit mainstream coverage and is a huge black eye for Apple. In addition to Reuters’ coverage Thursday, CNN and other publications ran big stories on the flaw. Both the U.S. and Germany advised users to install the patch, too.
No question this was a bad thing and Apple should be held accountable for any damages that come from it. For sure it is some heinous publicity.
However, they jumped quickly to fix it, made a clear acknowledgment of the situation, apologies and are conducting reviews to make sure it’s less likely to happen in the future. If only we could get our government to be this responsible.
It’s a major step up from most corporate cultures I’m aware of and as far as I’m concerned, it’s done.
Just checked the Apple homepage, nothing about an apology there. How did they issue an apology to Mac users, a statement issued to Reuters? I don’t watch the news so sites such as The Mac Observer are my source of Apple news.
Lately I’m imagining my world without the internet and no more new Macintosh computers. Steve Jobs is dead, long live Steve Jobs!