Apple just released their new mobile operating system, iOS 6, to developers yesterday, but already hackers have been busy at work and one team has managed to Jailbreak the software already. The news won’t come as too much of a shock to any familiar with the incredible hacking record of iPhone enthusiasts but the sheer speed of the effort will win many admirers.
MuscleNerd, from the iPhoneDev team, tweeted today that he had managed to break into the mobile OS less than twenty four hours after its initial release. He managed to hack the operating system while running it on an iPod touch 4. Though the hack has been implemented it is not yet ready for public use.
iOS 6 has not been fully released to the public, though it is possible to get it by going through certain channels. The new jailbreak will not give users access to some basic and important features of what users have come to be familiar with though it is certain that come public release time those won’t be far away.
The jailbreak is also a tethered one. That means when the device runs out of battery it will have to be reattached to a computer and rebooted. An untethered jailbreak removes this disadvantage and allows users to use their device normally while jailbroken.
The alternative app store generally used on jailbroken devices, Cydia, has not been included in this jailbreak. The store allows users access to third party applications that have not been approved by Apple for use on the devices.
The jailbreak proves yet again that security experts, even at the world’s most valuable technology company, simply cannot keep up with the amorphous network of hackers worldwide. That proves quite a worry on other fronts though Jailbreaking does not prove quite as much of a problem as other security concerns.
Apple does not like users Jailbreaking their devices because it allows them access to third party applications. This, the Cupertino firm holds, leads to piracy of software which is in general protested by the firm.
Jailbreaking also leads to a break in the consistency of experience that Apple tries to offer its users. That consistency is one of the most commonly offered advantage of iOS over Google Android devices. Apple is quick to hold on to control of the user experience its devices offer.
Jailbreaking is a reality of today’s mobile device landscape. Whatever Apple’s efforts have been to stop the flood of hackers successfully attacking their devices it clearly isn’t working. Whether to simply get used to it as the company seems to be doing currently, or to redouble efforts in stopping Jailbreaking it is an issue Apple will have to deal with as long as it sells its electronics.
