The latest version of the Mac operating system, macOS Sequoia, is a solid update with some great features. One of them is iPhone mirroring. Connect your Mac to your iPhone, bring it to your desktop, and use your iPhone as if it were in your hands. This is a really nice feature, but apparently it’s not perfect.
According to a report from Servco Security, iPhone mirroring has a privacy hole. When you use iPhone mirroring, when you use an app on your iPhone, that app creates an entry in a directory on your Mac. This may not sound like a big deal, especially if you use a personal Mac. But if you’re using your employer’s Mac, your IT department is likely running tools that track what’s happening on your work Mac. The records created can be viewed by the IT department. Therefore, your IT department will know what apps are on your personal iPhone and when you were supposed to finalize the cover of your TPS report, you would have bought a hair comb cleaner on the Temu app. You can know that.
Servco reported the hole to Apple on September 27th and received confirmation on October 3rd that Apple was working on a fix. Security companies typically report security bugs to the companies that manufacture their products and then make their findings public. The fix will likely be included in a future Sequoia update, possibly as part of macOS 15.1, released later this month.
Apple releases security patches through OS updates, so it’s important to install them when they become available. If Apple withdraws an update, the company will reissue the update once it has been properly revised with the fixes. In the meantime, the best way to avoid this hole is to not use iPhone mirroring on your personal iPhone on your work Mac. Servco says companies may have a legal obligation to instruct employees not to use iPhone mirroring on Macs at work.
Macworld has several guides to keep your Mac safe, including a guide to whether you need antivirus software, a list of Mac viruses, malware, and Trojans, and a comparison of Mac security software.
