Security features for MacBook Air
Your MacBook Air provides security features to protect what’s on your computer.
Secure startup. Support for secure startup is turned on automatically. It’s designed to verify that the operating system software loaded on your computer at startup is authorized by Apple. See Change security settings on the startup disk of a Mac with Apple silicon.
Secure storage. Your MacBook Air storage drive is encrypted with hardware keys to provide advanced levels of security. In the event of a catastrophic failure, data recovery may not be possible, so you need to back up your files to an external source.
System integrity. Your MacBook Air verifies that the version of macOS software loaded during startup is authorized by Apple, making it harder for malware or malicious websites to exploit your Mac.
Connect accessories securely. With a MacBook Air, you can approve new USB and Thunderbolt accessories when you connect them to your MacBook Air.
Note: In rare circumstances, such as a power failure during a macOS upgrade, your MacBook Air may become unresponsive and the firmware on the chip may need to be revived. See the Apple Support article How to revive or restore Mac firmware.
Want to learn more?
To learn more about the security features on your Mac see the Apple Platform Security Guide.