Apple issues first automatic update in the wake of Homeland Security alert

Two years ago, Apple released an automated update system for OS X, which was never used, mostly as Apple has required user approval before installing any system updates.

In the wake of vulnerability concerns brought forth by the Department of Homeland Security, as well as Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute, at least a dozen tech companies, including Apple, have been identified as vulnerable to a recently discovered security flaw that could allow an attacker to gain access to a system.

The Network Time Protocol, or NTP, is a component present in OS X that could be targeted, and for which Apple has promptly issued a fix, for the first time ever, through its automated system, instead of the regular update system that typically requires user intervention.

Apple spokesman Bill Evans describes the NTP as the component in OS X, used to synchronize clocks.

Mac users have reported the fix on Monday 22nd, as nearly seamless update, which did not require a system restart.

Apple has not received any reports of illegal tampering, in connection with this particular vulnerability, yet the update is certainly welcome in the wake of the most recent malicious attacks performed on Sony Pictures, and as of late, on a South Korean nuclear power plant.

Apple has not commented on whether future updates will follow the same trend, as far as no longer requiring user interaction.