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Getting Started with Swift for macOS Threat Detection Engineering

Swift is a programming language from Apple, and like most programming languages, it can be used to build tools for macOS threat detection engineering! If you’re new to Swift, the first step is learning the language basics and setting up your development environment. Once comfortable with Swift, you can explore macOS internals and userland frameworks that allow you to monitor system activity (processes, files, logs) for signs of malicious behavior. This guide will walk you through:

• Installing and setting up Swift (via Xcode)
• Learning Swift fundamentals (using resources like Exercism and Apple’s guides)
• Understanding key macOS internals relevant to threat detection (userland frameworks vs. kernel, Apple’s Endpoint Security framework, etc.)
• Sample code and open-source projects for telemetry collection, process monitoring, and malware detection in Swift

  Setting up Swift development on macOS

  To develop in Swift on macOS, you’ll primarily use Xcode, Apple’s integrated development environment. Xcode includes the Swift compiler and tools, and it’s available for free on the Mac App Store. Thus you need to Install XCode (TODO Link to section), and then come back to this tutorial.

• Install Xcode

Xcode will provide you with a GUI, code editor, debugger, and even a Playground feature where you can write Swift code and see results immediately, which is useful for learning syntax. Once Xcode is set up, you’re ready to start learning the Swift.