Apple SoC security

Apple-designed silicon forms a common architecture across all Apple products and now powers Mac as well as iPhone, iPad, Apple TV and Apple Watch. For over a decade, Apple’s world-class silicon design team has been building and refining Apple systems on chip (SoCs). The result is a scalable architecture designed for all devices that leads the industry in security capabilities. This common foundation for security features is only possible from a company that designs its own silicon to work with its software.

Apple silicon has been designed and fabricated to specifically enable the system security features detailed below.

Feature	A10	A11, S3	A12, A13, A14 S4–S9	A15, A16, A17	M1, M2, M3
Kernel Integrity Protection
Fast Permission Restrictions
System Coprocessor Integrity Protection
Pointer Authentication Codes
Page Protection Layer					See Note 1 below.
Secure Page Table Monitor				See Note 2 below.

Note 1: Page Protection Layer (PPL) requires that the platform execute only signed and trusted code; this is a security model that isn’t applicable in macOS.

Note 2: Secure Page Table Monitor (SPTM) is supported on A15, A16 and A17, and replaces Page Protection Layer on supported platforms.

Apple-designed silicon also specifically enables the Data Protection capabilities detailed below.

Feature	A10, A11 S3	A12–A17 S4–S9 M1, M2, M3
Sealed Key Protection (SKP)
recoveryOS — All Data Protection Classes protected
Alternative boots of DFU, Diagnostics and Update — Class A, B and C data protected

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Apple SoC security