Why should I allow SECURITYUPLOADD process to connect with apple servers?
There are a number of reasons, including but not limited to the following:
- Names don't mean anything.
- Blocking selected outgoing connections to Apple's servers will prevent the operation expected of it.
- Apple will not divulge the content or nature of the data being transmitted, but you could ask them if you are so motivated. They won't do anything more than refer you to publicly available documents such as their privacy policy, which I encourage you to read. Every word of that document was chosen with great care, since Apple would be exposing themselves and their stakeholders to tangible, ruinous, probably irreparable harm if the slightest detail within it is were proven to be deliberately deceitful, or perhaps even remotely inaccurate.
Uploading any of my local machines' security settings through the web does not sound secure.
Any Mac connected to the Internet is constantly uploading information to various entities all over the world. There is no reason to believe some thing with some arbitrary name is uploading your Mac's security settings. Perhaps it is, perhaps it is not, but there are a multitude of macOS processes that upload information. In that regard there is nothing particularly unique about any of them.
I usually block everything until i'm certain that its necessary for me.
Great! So why not keep doing that? When something breaks, identify it and decide whether you want to continue allowing that connection or not. No one other than you can know how you use your Mac, or which of the many Apple services you rely upon.
There is only one other thread about this but it became muddled with trolls and there was no clear verifiable answer.
I understand. The OP started out on a bad foot by never replying to a legitimate question soliciting additional information that would have helped him or her clarify the nature the concern. Instead, he or she chose to reinforce an initial impression of tinfoil hat sky-is-falling paranoia, leading that Discussion's predictable descent into Neverland. That's unfortunate, but it happens.
Ask the same question of an iPhone, for example, and no one would take it seriously. Macs are no different, with macOS running many of their exact same processes, all the time, whenever it has a viable Internet connection for which it searches relentlessly. If you don't like that fact of interconnected digital life, the solution is simple: don't connect to it.
Apple could design Macs that didn't connect to anything, like Macs of decades ago. No one would consider them even remotely useful today. Today, personal data privacy lies at the heart of everything Apple does, as it has for quite some time.
That is the reason for my initial question: "Is there something special about that one that concerns you more than all the rest?" It remains unanswered.
Finally:
I would like to know what data is transmitted, why it needs to run and if it poses a security risk.
If you want a "clear and verifiable answer" then contact Apple through one of its many options, and be prepared for a long, long wait. A better choice might be to consider asking on the Developer Forums. On rare occasions one or two of the macOS core engineers have been known to inadvertently divulge accurate information (that's sarcasm). Otherwise, relying upon some anonymous denizen of the Web for an authoritative answer will just be a waste of your time.
