BSides Buffalo 2026: But… Macs Don’t Get Viruses, Right? How to Start Learning macOS / iOS Security

Since Macs have become more popular over the past 5+ years, malware targeting macOS has also been on the rise. And for iPhone users, commercial spyware has been becoming a more common headline, both in infosec news sources and the mainstream media. This talk is geared toward two main target audiences— Rank beginners who want to learn about Apple security, even if you have no background in tech Windows / Linux professionals who need to deal with these devices at work, but aren’t sure where to start HEADS UP! We will be digging into some technical topics along the way, but only after we cover enough fundamentals to help you stay afloat. Key Takeaways— An annotated list of resources, broken down by sub-topics in Apple security, to help you weed through the rather long list of past conference talks, books, blog posts, etc. A quick checklist for your less technical friends and family to help them cover their posteriors, ranging from easy sells to heavy-duty options iOS Lockdown Mode explained, including before and after screenshots. How and why even the vast majority of non-technical users could benefit from using it Plus two brief demos (with videos, in case 🤞) that anyone with an Apple device can try at home— Demo #1: Pulling an iOS Sysdiagnose. What’s inside those logs and database files… and also how much data is Apple collecting onboard our phones?! Plus when to use this feature, and why it matters for everybody… even if it takes some technical knowledge to understand. Demo #2—ESLogger JSON captures on macOS. No malware samples for today—but learning how to follow what your applications are doing under the hood will give you a solid starting point for tackling malware, if you want