Many people consider Apple's OS X operating system to be more secure than Windows, but apparently it's not secure enough for Apple.
The iPhone maker recently hired Kristin Paget, a security researcher and hacker who uncovered so many security issues in Windows Vista five years ago that she caused the OS's release to be delayed.
Paget is now part of Apple's security team, Wired reported on Thursday. Her Linkedin profile names her as a core operating system security researcher.
Paget's exact duties at Apple are unclear, and the Cupertino company is reportedly being secretive and non-responsive - likely for security reasons.
Breaking Windows Vista
Five years ago Kristin Paget, then known as Chris Paget, was hired by Microsoft to stress-test Windows Vista's security.
What she and a small team of expert hackers found was enough to get Vista's release pushed back.
When her NDA with Microsoft expired in 2011, she explained to crowds at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, "I'm proud of the number of bugs we found and helped get fixed."
Her expertise in Windows security and other areas of hacking likely helped get her hired at Apple.
Should Mac users be concerned about security?
Earlier this year online ad agency Chitika reported that 13 percent of U.S. web traffic came from computers running Mac OS X.
Compared to Windows' 85 percent, that does not seem like much, but that number may continue to increase if interest in Windows 8 continues to sputter.
And regardless, it's apparently enough to attract the ire of hackers and others who would threaten the security of Mac OS X users, or Apple would not be seeking to shore up its defenses with the help of Paget.
In April, anti-virus software makers Sophos reported that one in five Mac computers were infected with some form of Malware.
That was right around the time that it was discovered that 600,000 Macs were infected with the Flashback trojan, which prompted another security firm to remark that Apple's security was "10 years behind Microsoft."
Apple's OS could become more secure soon with the help of Paget, but in the meantime TechRadar's guide on protecting your Mac against viruses may help.
Via Wired
