How to Get DOD sites to work on A Mac
Trying to log into DOD sites and having a difficult time. Is there an easier way to get CAC enabled sites to work on a mac?
Mac mini (M1, 2020)
User profile for user:
faith185
User level:
Community Specialist
Hi SaluteTheEnsign,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. We'd recommend starting with this information found at Getting Started - DoD Cyber Exchange in the Mac section.
"To get started you will need:
- CAC (see note below)
- Card reader
You can get started using your CAC on your Mac OS X system by following these basic steps:
- Get a card reader
Typically Macs do not come with card readers and therefore an external card reader is necessary. At this time, the best advice for obtaining a card reader is through working with your home component. In addition, please review the CAC smart card reader requirements for more information regarding card reader requirements.
2. Download and install the OS X Smartcard Services package
The OS X Smartcard Services Package allows a Mac to read and communicate with a smart card. In order for your machine to recognize your CAC certificates and DoD websites as trusted, the installer will load the DoD CA certificates on OS X. Please refer to this page for specific installation instructions.
3. Address the cross-certificate chaining Issue
These instructions walk through adjusting the trust settings on the Interoperability Root CA (IRCA) > DoD Root CA 2 and the US DoD CCEB IRCA 1 > DoD Root CA 2 certificates to prevent cross-certificate chaining issues. This can make it appear that your certificates are issued by roots other than the DoD Root CA 2 and can prevent access to DoD websites.
4. Configure Chrome and Safari, if necessary
Safari and Google Chrome rely on Keychain Access properly recognizing your CAC certificates.
a. In Finder, navigate to Go > Utilities and launch KeychainAccess.app
b. Verify that your CAC certificates are recognized and displayed in Keychain Access"
Kind regards.