Security Architecture, Endpoint/Device Security, Endpoint/Device Security, Security Strategy, Plan, Budget, Vulnerability Management, Patch/Configuration Management, Endpoint/Device Security, Endpoint/Device Security, Endpoint/Device Security

Apple’s iOS 7.1 is made available to developers

Apple released iOS 7.0.4 on Thursday to address some lingering iPhone and iPad bugs and now, having just released iOS 7.1 to developers, the technology giant looks to tackle other issues, as well as add some new features.

One of the known issues set to be amended in the final release of iOS 7.1 involves exorbitant loading times related to pulling up an iTunes Match library or purchased music history, according to Apple news website 9to5mac.com. Problems related to Bluetooth, crash logs, delayed high precision timers and multipeer connectivity are also being addressed.

Since Apple is well-known for keeping hardware and software vulnerabilities behind closed doors until experts have thoroughly researched and appropriately mitigated the issues, more iOS 7.1 bugs are likely to surface in the coming weeks.

A dark keyboard, the ability to reduce transparency and darken colors, and new multitasking gestures are some of the new features that users can look forward to taking advantage of when iOS 7.1 launches to the public.

"Security-wise, I think iOS has been in good shape for a long time," Charlie Miller, a security researcher with Twitter who gained fame for finding notable vulnerabilities in Apple products, told SCMagazine.com on Tuesday. "There are only a few instances of malware in the wild and no drive-by downloads in at least two years."

Apple released iOS 7.0.4 last Thursday, which addressed a security flaw that would allow app and in-app purchases to be made in the App Store without authorization. So long as an account was logged in, a user was able to forgo inserting a password to buy software on the mobile device.

Some new bugs in iOS 7.0.4 were discovered quickly by early updaters, who took to social media networks such as Twitter to express their disdain. One issue being reported is the inability for mobile devices to find and connect to Wi-Fi, while other problems include frequently crashing apps and restarting iPhones.

Apple's iOS 7 launched in September and users quickly found a number of security flaws, including passcode bypass exploits. The Touch ID fingerprint sensor launched with the iPhone 5s in September and attackers were able to workaround the biometric security feature in a matter of days.

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