Apple delivers Black Hat talk to mediocre reception

CNET's posted a strange writeup for Apple's first talk at the Black Hat security conference, and though the piece is short on details, the theme is clear: There wasn't a lot of groundbreaking news shown off to attendees. Manager of Platform Security Dallas De Atley basically gave a quick rundown of the security measures built in to the architecture of iOS, and didn't give much more. Any hackers looking for Apple to speak in person about vulnerabilities or work being done for the future of the Mac or iOS platforms were apparently turned away disappointed.

But I would argue that Apple just showing up at the Black Hat conference is the beginning of a good public dialogue with the company on security. Apple has been quiet to say the least in the past, preferring instead to just close its doors and windows where security is concerned, and release hotfixes and updates on its own schedule. Just an appearance at the Black Hat conference, then, is a gesture by Apple that it recognizes the values of hackers and their culture. As CNET's writer says, maybe next year Apple will have a more satisfying presentation.