Just how private is Apple's Private Cloud Compute? You can test it to find out

In June, Apple used its Worldwide Developer Conference to announce the creation of the Private Cloud Compute platform to run its AI Intelligence applications, and now it's asking people to stress test the system for security holes.

Apple has revealed that the platform (PCC) runs on custom-built server hardware and runs a specially hardened operating system derived from the same code base as iOS and macOS. It's also issued a security guide to the system, and pentesters can set up a Virtual Research Environment that investigators can use to examine the platform's strengths and weaknesses.

"In the weeks after we announced Apple Intelligence and PCC, we provided third-party auditors and select security researchers early access to the resources we created to enable this inspection, including the PCC Virtual Research Environment (VRE)," the Apple Security Engineering and Architecture team wrote in a blog post on Thursday.

"Today we ...