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Apple and a Hacker’s Future
Hraness wrote this summary from a saved copy of the source. Quotations are taken word for word from the source.
gist
Ben Thompson of Stratechery says a macOS screen-sharing flaw let attackers plant a crypto miner on his agent-only Mac Mini, and Claude caught it. He blames Transparency, Consent, and Control (TCC), Apple's permission prompts that agents cannot see, for keeping screen sharing on, and notes the fix came in a point release his automatic security-update setting did not install. Apple's plan to tighten Full Disk Access and its coming smart-home hub leave him unenthused. Agents, he argues, make anyone a hacker, and his next server will run Linux.
ideas
- A persistent agent caught the intrusion. Claude flagged a root-owned miner hook, stopped running commands, and then helped Thompson find the four-second window of access before he wiped the Mac Mini.
- TCC asks permission for each program instead of for the agent. Agents write new programs constantly, and the prompts appear where no program can see them, so programs fail silently until Thompson clicks OK over screen sharing.
- Apple's automatic security-update setting skipped the fix. Thompson says CVE fixes almost always arrive in point releases, which the "Install…security updates automatically" setting did not install.
- Apple's app-based integrations put Siri at a disadvantage. Thompson argues agents that use the web get integrations for free, while Apple depends on developers adopting its APIs, and he would rather control the software layer himself.
- Thompson can now picture not buying Apple by default. He is keeping his computer and phone, but he bought a new server that will run Linux.
quotes
“What I need is a permission layer for agents, not the programs they create; TCC is operating at the wrong level of abstraction.”
“The thing about AI, however, particularly agents, is that they make anyone a hacker.”
“a walled garden feels less like protection and more like a prison.”
“I will never put a Mac in a rack again.”