Apple has published a whitepaper* detailing how it says it is working to protect EU users and emphasising the risks of opening up the iPhone to rival App Stores.
“Starting this year, the European Union’s new Digital Markets Act (DMA) requires us to take a new approach in our work to serve our EU users,” it continues. “This required us to change the uniquely successful approach that we’ve employed to protect users’ security and privacy and keep them safe.”
“The new options we’re introducing to comply with the DMA necessarily mean we will not be able to protect users in the same way,” it says. “To keep offering users the most secure, most privacy-protecting, and safest platform — in line with what users expect from Apple — we’ve designed and implemented new safeguards that will help to protect and inform them.” “While the changes the DMA requires will inevitably cause a gap between the protections that Apple users outside of the EU can rely on and the protections available to users in the EU moving forward,” continues Apple, “we are working tirelessly to make sure iPhone remains the safest of any phones available in the EU by reducing the risks introduced by these necessary changes-even though we cannot entirely eliminate such risks.”
Apple has recently made significant changes to its software ecosystem to comply with the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA). ESET supports the reasoning behind the Digital Markets Act where it stands on avoiding Apple’s abuse of its market position.
Among the changes made, we note the ability for users to select alternative app stores. Thus, iPhone users physically located in the European Union can download apps external to the official App Store.
While some users may find the increased selection of App Stores appealing, the situation also creates new opportunities for cyber criminals. In 2021, ESET researchers described how cyber crooks use fake calendar app to send phishing messages to unknowing victims on a regular basis. This clever technique was not very technically advanced because the iOS system offered little leeway to malicious applications.As an official partner of Google’s App Defense Alliance since 2019, we recommend that users stick to their device’s official app storeswhen downloading apps.
by Andrew Garth, Government Affairs Lead, ESET
*ESET does not bear any responsibility for the accuracy of this information.
ESET Ireland 