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Earlier this month, Moonlock, the cybersecurity division of MacPaw, released its Mac Security Survey 2025. It surveyed nearly 2,000 macOS users about their habits, concerns, and overall perceptions of cybersecurity on Mac. Most notably, the findings reveal an interesting shift in how Mac users perceive malware and the overall strength of Apple’s defenses.
It’s a long-running misconception that Macs can’t get malware, or should I say it was? This might have been more true in the early 2000s when Mac held about 2% of the market. Windows PCs dominated overwhelmingly. Today, Apple’s growing personal computer sales have put them on the map for better or worse. As I’ve reported on Security Bite before, both enterprise and personal macOS users are falling victim at record rates. This is despite Apple’s strong efforts to combat this with built-in system security mechanisms through XProtect, etc. Today’s report from Moonlock, though, claims the mindset of users thinking Macs are impervious to dangerous malware is finally waning.
Only 15% of survey respondents now believe macOS is immune to malware, down from 28% in 2023. This decline comes as 66% of Mac users reported facing at least one cyber threat in the past year, ranging from malware and phishing to data breaches.
The report also highlights growing anxiety around AI, not the Apple Intelligence kind either. 72% fear artificial intelligence is fueling the rise of cyber threats, while just 34% say AI makes them feel safer. More than half of respondents admitted they don’t feel in control of the data AI tools collect. Last year, I reported that AI tools like ChatGPT were actually observed being used to help write malware scripts. This will only continue.
Moving on through Moonlock’s 2025 survey, the cybersecurity firm found that confidence in Apple’s built-in protections alone is slipping. Nearly half of Mac users (46%) say they need additional security software because macOS isn’t secure enough on its own. At the same time, 64% believe software alone can fully protect them, a sign that too many may still be overlooking basic security hygiene like software updates, strong passwords, network safety, etc.
Moonlock’s Mac Security Survey 2025 is packed full of really interesting insights. The most important of which is a growing awareness of threats impacting Macs. Users might still be leaning too heavily on software solutions while practicing poor security hygiene, but the increase in awareness is promising.
You can check out the full report here.
Thank you for reading Security Bite is a weekly security-focused column on 9to5Mac. Each week, Arin Waichulis delivers insights on data privacy, uncovers vulnerabilities, and sheds light on emerging threats within Apple’s vast ecosystem of over 2 billion active devices.
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