Previewed at WWDC, launching in the fall.
Browser-Based iOS 9.1/9.2 Jailbreak Wins $1M Bounty, Will Be Sold for Corporate and Government Use
Earlier this month, exploit acquisition platform Zerodium debuted an iOS 9 bug bounty that would pay out up to three million dollars to hackers who managed to develop a browser-based untethered jailbreak for iOS 9, which it could then sell to clients interested in shelling out a lot of money to gain illicit access to iOS devices.
The contest expired at the end of October, and Zerodium today announced one hacking team had successfully created a browser-based jailbreak for iOS 9.1 and iOS 9.2, the latest versions of iOS 9, earning $1 million.
Zerodium foundar Chaouki Bekrar told Wired that the exploit developed by the hackers will be given to its customers, which include major technology, finance, and defense corporations, along with government agencies. The contest rules required the exploit to be achievable remotely without requiring user interaction beyond reading a text message or visiting a website via Chrome or Safari on an iOS device.
Bekrar confirmed that Zerodium plans to reveal the technical details of the technique to its customers, whom the company has described as "major corporations in defense, technology, and finance" seeking zero-day attack protection as well as "government organizations in need of specific and tailored cybersecurity capabilities."Because it's selling the jailbreak ("likely" to U.S. customers only), Zerodium does not plan to report the vulnerabilities in the operating system to Apple, though Bekrar says the company may share the details at a later date. The jailbreak also won't be provided to the general public, but Bekrar says Zerodium announced the results of the contest to remind people that while iOS security is "very hardened," it's not unbreakable.
Note: Due to the political nature of the discussion regarding this topic, the discussion thread is located in our Politics, Religion, Social Issues forum. All forum members and site visitors are welcome to read and follow the thread, but posting is limited to forum members with at least 100 posts.
[ 212 comments ]
Top Rated Comments
(View all)
36 months ago
This is very very bad. This is going to be abused by either our government or another malicious party. For example, all one would need to do is inject the exploit in an unencrypted WiFi to gain complete control over a phone since this is a browser based hack.
36 months ago
Folks, this is just a jailbreak, it's neither illegal, nor can it be applied to a phone whose owner doesn't want it, just like all the other jailbreaks over the years.
The contest rules required the exploit to be achievable remotely without requiring user interaction beyond reading a text message or visiting a website via Chrome or Safari on an iOS device.
What do you think a jailbreak is? It's just a fancy name for an exploit that you want to use. If applied against your will or without your knowledge it is simply malware.
36 months ago
Hopefully, Apple who is sneaky is actually one of the customers and will plug the hole quickly. Yes wishful thinking, we might get a plug if the hole goes public and then probably in iOS 10. (SMH)
36 months ago
Buy Apple they said. It's secure they said.
The fact that they're offering $1M for someone to develop the breach should make you feel very good about the overall security of the system... if it was easy nobody would pay $1M for it.
36 months ago
uninstalling Chrome browser on my iPhone today.
the winning team for the hack probably gains entry through the Chrome browser, not Safari on iOS.
As Chrome is forced to use webkit as a renderer, I don't think it makes a diference what browser you're using.
36 months ago
There must be a federal and international law to mandate these information to be given up to the software company ASAP to get it fixed and to ban anyone doing this from doing business again. Zerodium should be ashamed of themselves for intentionally withholding the exploit from Apple just to make a few bucks on people's security.
Please do yourself a favor and learn what a jailbreak is, it is a fancy name for gaining access to the root status on the device or more accurate, a massive security exploit. Also, yes, it can be applied to the phone without the owner's permission, you have no idea what you're talking about.
It is the responsibility of Apple to fix this ASAP to ensure no one can use this against the device users.
Folks, this is just a jailbreak, it's neither illegal, nor can it be applied to a phone whose owner doesn't want it, just like all the other jailbreaks over the years.
Please do yourself a favor and learn what a jailbreak is, it is a fancy name for gaining access to the root status on the device or more accurate, a massive security exploit. Also, yes, it can be applied to the phone without the owner's permission, you have no idea what you're talking about.
It is the responsibility of Apple to fix this ASAP to ensure no one can use this against the device users.
Buy Apple they said. It's secure they said.
Yea, it's a lie but it is not limited to Apple. There is nothing in this universe that can be secure. Everything is breakable.
36 months ago
Folks, this is just a jailbreak, it's neither illegal, nor can it be applied to a phone whose owner doesn't want it, just like all the other jailbreaks over the years.
[ Read All Comments ]
Apple Maps has been updated with indoor maps of at least 18 shopping malls in several Canadian cities and suburbs, including Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, Montréal, Calgary, Ottawa, Winnipeg,...
Twitch, the platform known as a place to watch streamers play games like League of Legends, Fortnite, and Overwatch, is now looking into becoming a "broader video service" that would cater to...
Feral has announced that the iPhone version of ROME: Total War will be released on August 23. The acclaimed historical strategy game made its way to iPad in November 2016, and has since been...
Verizon today announced that it will offer the Apple TV 4K as part of its 5G residential broadband package that's set to launch in four markets this year, including Indianapolis, Houston, Los...
One of Apple's upcoming television shows is an unnamed sci-fi series from Battlestar Galactica developer Ronald D. Moore, which is currently in the casting stages.
According to Variety,...
Popular iPhone trivia game HQ Trivia has expanded to the Apple TV as of today, the company announced on Twitter.
The new Apple TV version of the app allows Apple TV owners to play the...
Live TV streaming service DirecTV Now this week began expanding support for local stations on its platform, with numerous posts on r/DirecTVNow reporting that local network affiliates for ABC, NBC,...
Most readers will have at some point received a two-factor authentication code delivered to them by SMS text message. Many apps and websites send the one-time codes to confirm that the person...
