(en) Secure is a weekly column that plunges into the rapidly expanding topic of cybersecurity.
The launch of the 2018 MacBook Pro has been rich in controversy, with problems ranging from keyboard performance. While we're at it, let's put another log on the fire, is not it?
The new MacBook Pro come with what Apple calls the T2 coprocessor – a chip first introduced in the iMac Pro. Although its main reason for being Siri's voice activation, it also has important implications for security and storage. Better security is great, but unfortunately, the T2 coprocessor is not without problems.
The return of T2
The coprocessor T2 brings all kinds of security features to MacBook Pros. In his press release, Apple says that it has "support for secure boot" and "encrypted storage on the fly", two features that appeared when the T2 appeared in the iMac Pro's last year. These security features may not seem like a big deal, but they will have a much bigger effect on users than activating Siri with your voice.
As soon as the Apple logo appears, the T2 is in control, and acts as Apple's "Root of trust."
Apple has never been so clear about the exact processes controlled by these chips, but there are a few things we know that the T2 manages . This includes booting, storage and Touch Bar / Touch ID. Not only do these processors no longer need to be processed by the Intel CPU and third-party controllers, but they are also protected in Apple's closed stopgap system.
A good example is the startup process, which is now partially managed by T2. . As detailed in the initial reports on the coprocessor in the iMac Pro, the T2 checks everything on the system before it is allowed to go ahead. As soon as the Apple logo appears, the T2 is in control, and acts as the "root of confidence" of Apple to make sure everything is fine.
Encrypted storage is just as important. Because the functions of the conventional disk controller have been replaced by the T2, the coprocessor now has direct control of storage on your MacBook Pro.
Apple T2 Coprocessor
This type of access allows Apple to ensure that all data contained in the SSD is automatically protected and encrypted. This allows Apple to do things like secure your biometric data outside the SSD. At the moment, it's just the TouchID sensor, but in the future this might include something like FaceID.
However, some reports have been made to bring these new security features to the MacBook Pro.
The T2 Achilles' Heel [19659006WhileMacBook'sRapidStorageUpdatesandTechnologyhasAlsoIntroducedaNewProblem
On older MacBook Pro models, technicians had access to a data access recovery port. logic board. Thanks to a special tool developed by Apple, this port has saved the data of your SSD, even on a faulty logic board. Because the memory has been soldered to the MacBooks board since 2016, it was the only way to back up the data if something went wrong on your computer. It was as simple as bringing your laptop dead to a local Apple Store.
But now, thanks to a crash by iFixit, we know that the data access recovery port is missing on the new MacBook Pros. Apple may have another backup plan to recover data, but none that it has shared so far.
Apple has made it much harder to back up your system data.
What does this have to do with safety? Well, according to sources in contact with MacRumors, this data recovery port was "probably removed because the 2018 MacBook Pro models feature Apple's custom T2 chip, which provides hardware encryption for SSD storage. "
Safe dose with its new processor, Apple has made it much more difficult to save your system data. This is fine for security, but not great if your MacBook fails.
And, according to internal documents obtained by MacRumors, Apple's technicians are encouraged to encourage users to back up their systems using Time Machine. So while you can try to stay backed up or possibly send your system to a very expensive data recovery specialist, Apple's ability to serve its own products has declined. The reliability and service that distinguish Apple's products are shrinking day by day.
Like many problems concerning Mac, it is a step forward, two steps back.
