Apple security manager to speak at Black Hat conference this Thursday

Apple’s platform security team manager Dallas De Atley will speak at this year’s Black Hat this Thursday, marking Apple’s first official appearance at the security-focused event. De Atley’s talk will focus on security technologies on the iOS platform, and has been approved by Apple’s marketing team, Bloomberg reports. Apple insiders were originally scheduled to speak at the conference back in 2008, but the talk was cancelled by Apple’s marketing department, Black Hat general manager Trey Ford told Bloomberg.

Apple’s decision to participate in the conference is an important one in light of an increasing number of security breaches against the company’s mobile and computer software. Apple recently softened security claims about OS X on its website, possibly in response to a Flashback trojan that infected about 600,000 Macs around the world. iOS has encountered security issues recently as well, with a hack that allows users to make in-app purchases without paying. Apple’s decision to speak at the Black Hat conference this Thursday shows an increased awareness of and a desire to improve security on the iOS and OS X platforms.