This is a huge step forward for iPhone users. Look, I get it. From the typical HN perspective, this potentially looks like a lot of hype. But many of you aren't looking at from a high level.
In the world we are now living in; even what's happening in the United States right now, being able to protect yourself from well-funded, determined attackers for the average person couldn't come at a better time.
There's a huge gap between Fortune 500 executives, government officials, etc. and regular people in terms of the resources available to them to prevent state-sponsored attackers. It doesn't take much these days to go from a nobody to being on somebody's radar.
If you're a woman seeking an abortion in a state where it's illegal or severely restricted, you could be the target of malware from your local or state government or law enforcement. In Texas, you can sue anyone who aids and abets a woman who attempts to get an abortion for $10,000, which is enough to get someone to trick someone into installing malware on a phone.
No, it's not China or Russia coming for you but it doesn't take much to ruin someone's life.
I don't think this is virtue signaling or marketing hype by Apple; if anything, this is right in alignment with the stance they've had on privacy for years. Even for a company the size of Apple, putting up $10 million to fund organizations that investigate, expose, and prevent highly targeted cyberattacks isn't pocket change.
At the end of the day, this is all good news for user privacy and security going forward. I also suspect if I lockdown my iPhone, my other compatible devices using the same Apple ID will also lockdown. No IT department required.