4 ms·

To patch the vulnerability, they need to be aware of the vulnerability. An individual who possessed such a vulnerability would likely be more inclined to go int

To patch the vulnerability, they need to be aware of the vulnerability. An individual who possessed such a vulnerability would likely be more inclined to go into business for themselves (such as the hackers that helped the FBI crack the San Bernardino iPhone, or the Israeli firm Celebrate) than hand it over to Apple for a one time fee. Although I imagine that Apple would probably pay pretty well for it. IIRC these sort of vulnerabilities don't totally bypass the phone's lock mechanism, but rather disable the pin code attempt delay and allow bruteforcing of the pin code via software.

45h34jh53k4j 8y ago
One time fee? Apple don't pay for such things. Possibly why there is a black market for iOS exploits.
- LeoPanthera 8y ago
  Please don't just make stuff up. https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/04/apple-announces-long-awaited-bug-bounty-program/ https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/04/apple-announces-long-await...
- chrisfinazzo 8y ago
  The bounty security program (announced at BlackHat 2016) was created to deal with these kinds of scenarios. They will pay depending on the severity of the bug and the affected subsystem. Of course, now that this mechanism exists, I'm just waiting for Apple to sue GreyKey and Cellebrite out of existence, confiscate all the devices, and charge the founders with aiding industrial espionage or overreach related to pursuing terrorism. (I'd also like to see the same thing happen with the NRA, but alas that doesn't seem to be in the cards for the current circus in Washington) The difference between more legit researchers and these guys is that they will work with anybody as long as they cut a check. Real R&D has more scruples than to do that.
  - crossedpolitics 8y ago
    How is the NRA vulnerable to these machinations?
  - MichaelGG 8y ago
    As much as I dislike this Israeli firm how have they done anything illegal? Hacking a device in your physical possession should not be illegal. Your comment about the NRA makes me think you're just being hyperbolic here?
    - dogma1138 8y ago
      Celebrite is actually the better of those out there, while they do sell their data acquisition terminals to LEO in bulk their "unlock services" are done in person by their staff with a court order for each case (including multiple court orders in some jurisdiction when different datasets on the phone are protected separately by law).
      - chrisfinazzo 8y ago
        It makes me extremely nervous to see that a third party can even create this capability. If I had a say, I would just tell these guys this level of access to low level code just isn't possible for third parties. As odd as it might be, I trust Apple more because they don't want my data and aren't enabling methods for other people to acquire it. On aome level, this back and forth on encryption is an endless cat and mouse charade, but the fundamental assumption behind cryptographic security is absolute. "You can't outlaw math"
        MichaelGG 8y ago
        What are you talking about? You want to make it so that a company like Apple can just draw arbitrary bounds and say "no messing around beyond this point" and have that be internationally, legally, enforced? We got that with the DMCA and DRM modules, phone unlocking, and console rooting.

45h34jh53k4j 8y ago

One time fee? Apple don't pay for such things. Possibly why there is a black market for iOS exploits.

LeoPanthera 8y ago
Please don't just make stuff up. https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/04/apple-announces-long-awaited-bug-bounty-program/ https://techcrunch.com/2016/08/04/apple-announces-long-await...
chrisfinazzo 8y ago
The bounty security program (announced at BlackHat 2016) was created to deal with these kinds of scenarios. They will pay depending on the severity of the bug and the affected subsystem. Of course, now that this mechanism exists, I'm just waiting for Apple to sue GreyKey and Cellebrite out of existence, confiscate all the devices, and charge the founders with aiding industrial espionage or overreach related to pursuing terrorism. (I'd also like to see the same thing happen with the NRA, but alas that doesn't seem to be in the cards for the current circus in Washington) The difference between more legit researchers and these guys is that they will work with anybody as long as they cut a check. Real R&D has more scruples than to do that.
- crossedpolitics 8y ago
  How is the NRA vulnerable to these machinations?
- MichaelGG 8y ago
  As much as I dislike this Israeli firm how have they done anything illegal? Hacking a device in your physical possession should not be illegal. Your comment about the NRA makes me think you're just being hyperbolic here?
  - dogma1138 8y ago
    Celebrite is actually the better of those out there, while they do sell their data acquisition terminals to LEO in bulk their "unlock services" are done in person by their staff with a court order for each case (including multiple court orders in some jurisdiction when different datasets on the phone are protected separately by law).
    - chrisfinazzo 8y ago
      It makes me extremely nervous to see that a third party can even create this capability. If I had a say, I would just tell these guys this level of access to low level code just isn't possible for third parties. As odd as it might be, I trust Apple more because they don't want my data and aren't enabling methods for other people to acquire it. On aome level, this back and forth on encryption is an endless cat and mouse charade, but the fundamental assumption behind cryptographic security is absolute. "You can't outlaw math"
      - MichaelGG 8y ago
        What are you talking about? You want to make it so that a company like Apple can just draw arbitrary bounds and say "no messing around beyond this point" and have that be internationally, legally, enforced? We got that with the DMCA and DRM modules, phone unlocking, and console rooting.