Security News > 2023 > May > Apple delivers first-ever Rapid Security Response “cyberattack” patch – leaves some users confused
We've written about the uncertainty of Apple's security update process many times before.
Rapid Security Responses are a new type of software release for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
As Apple notes, this sort of rapid patch is the firt of its sort: New Rapid Security Responses are delivered only for the latest version of iOS, iPadOS and macOS - beginning with iOS 16.4.1, iPadOS 16.4.1, and macOS 13.3.1.
Given that these Rapid Security Responses sound very much like zero-day anti-spyware fixes, and that Apple is at least clear that they relate to "Important security improvements", we went ahead with them, forcing an update of our devices right away.
As reported by some commenters on Naked Security, our update downloaded OK, but failed with a notification and a popup saying, "iOS Security Response 16.4.1 failed verification because you are no longer connected to the internet."
This time the update verification succeeded, our phone instantly rebooted and the Rapid Security Response was installed and the reboot completed within a few tens of seconds, rather than the usual tens of minutes or longer.