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Google Releases Tool To Help iPhone Hackers (vice.com)

Posted by msmash on from the tussle-continues dept.

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, writing for Motherboard: Google has released a powerful tool that can help security researchers hack and find bugs in iOS 11.1.2, a very recent version of the iPhone operating system. The exploit is the work of Ian Beer, one of the most prolific iOS bug hunters, and a member of Google Project Zero, which works to find bugs in all types of software, including that not made by Google. Beer released the tool Monday, which he says should work for "all devices." The proof of concept works only for those devices he tested -- iPhone 7, 6s and iPod touch 6G -- "but adding more support should be easy," he wrote. Last week, Beer caused a stir among the community of hackers who hack on the iPhone -- also traditionally known as jailbreakers -- by announcing that he was about to publish an exploit for iOS 11.1.2. Researchers reacted with excitement as they realized the tool would make jailbreaking and security research much easier.

3 of 52 comments (clear)

  1. How about a tool to hack Android? by jellomizer · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I bet it would be easier for Google to come up with a tool to help us Root our Android OS?
    It seems that Google has been getting very vindictive lately (more then usual) to its competitors. Normally companies have a degree of compartmentalization where it can work with and compete with the same company at the same time. Google seems to be taking competition across the board so units that are not in competition are not playing fairly with the other company.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:How about a tool to hack Android? by mysidia · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I bet it would be easier for Google to come up with a tool to help us Root our Android OS?
      It seems that Google has been getting very vindictive lately

      You don't need this sort of tool to Root Android; rooting Android is easy and can be done by the end user, by design.
      As the article points out... this tool is a product of Google's Project Zero researchers, not the teams who work on Android; these security researchers are part of Google's pro-active cyber defenses and do good for the security of ALL vendors' devices and software --- the group is essentially the opposite or counter to organizations such as the NSA that engage similar teams to find and build exploits with the intention of weaponizing them --- instead, Google shares exploits with the affected vendors and then responsibly discloses, instead of keeping vulnerabilities found secret, and their many notable discoveries make the internet a safer place.

      Google seems to be taking competition across the board so units that are not in competition are not playing fairly

      What exactly are you trying to infer here? Google releasing a security research tool is not an unfair, illegal, or anti-Apple act.

  2. Hopefully will flag the Podcast app as a bug by OffTheLip · · Score: 2

    Now that would be useful.