macOS 15’s Security Settings Are a Teachable Moment for Bad Cybersecurity

If you use screen recording in macOS as part of your workflow, get ready to be frustrated. 

macOS Sequoia, in an attempt to lock down security settings, now regularly prompts users for permission requests that need screen recording access. This includes commonly used apps such as Adobe Photoshop, Google Chrome, Adobe Premiere, Slack, Bartender, and others.

On the face of it, this makes sense from a cybersecurity perspective: Apps that allow screen sharing provide threat actors and hackers with a vector for intercepting and recording sensitive information. Reminding users of which app has access to your data could potentially alert them to a security breach.  

In reality, it overlooks the human element. Persistent nag pop ups, at best, tend to fade into the background for users who quickly learn to click whatever setting it is that lets them get back to whatever they were doing. At worst, it allows threat actors another new avenue to deceive users into providing access to sensitive information. 

There’s already been pushback from beta testers, and in response Apple has changed the permission prompts from weekly to monthly. As it stands, it seems like both a bad choice for security and an outlier for a company which has consistently innovated in making digital devices more intuitive. 

Concerned about cybersecurity? Not sure what the new macOS version means for your business? We can help! Contact Nodal today.