In order to fix security flaws that are now being actively exploited or pose a serious danger to the safety and privacy of users, Apple has made its first batch of “rapid security” updates accessible to the general public.
The ‘Rapid Security Responses’ bring significant security upgrades in between software updates, claims Apple.
“New software releases for iPhone, iPad, and Mac called Rapid Security Responses have been introduced. They give significant security updates in between software updates, such as upgrades to the WebKit foundation stack, the Safari web browser, or other vital system libraries. According to Apple’s support page, they may also be utilized to alleviate various security risks more rapidly.
The quick security update will be made available to users of iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1, and macOS 13.3.1.
Once installed, the software version will be prefixed with a letter, for example, iOS 16.4.1(a), iPadOS 16.4.1(a), and macOS 13.3.1(a).
The rapid security update won’t be applied to earlier versions of Apple’s software.
Rapid Security Responses can be deployed automatically on a user’s device by default, and if that isn’t possible, a restart request will be presented.
Go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates on your iPhone or iPad, then make sure “Security Responses & System Files” is enabled.
On a Mac, select System Settings from the Apple menu, then click General in the sidebar, and finally click Software Update on the right.
Toggle “Install Security Responses and system files” on, then click the Show Details button next to Automatic Updates.