The next layer of defense is to help ensure that if malware appears on any Mac, it’s quickly identified and blocked, both to halt spread and to remediate the Mac systems it’s already gained a foothold on. The first layer of defense is designed to inhibit the distribution of malware, and prevent it from launching even once-this is the goal of the App Store, and Gatekeeper combined with Notarization. Block malware from running on customer systems: Gatekeeper, Notarization, and XProtectģ. Prevent launch or execution of malware: App Store or Gatekeeper and NotarizationĢ. Malware defenses are structured in three layers:ġ. Apple operates a threat intelligence process to quickly identify and block malware.