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But they also pushed up the price in black market, and if someone in the black market is willing to pay $2mil, $500k ahead, and then the rest over a period of t

But they also pushed up the price in black market, and if someone in the black market is willing to pay $2mil, $500k ahead, and then the rest over a period of time. Someone might take that payments in bitcoin over Apples $1m which you will have to pay tax on. We should also remember that there are tons of people outside the US who are into this. Africa, Asian, Eastern Europe. They don't have to worry about the legality of selling an exploit.

notatoad 7y ago
>But they also pushed up the price in black market isn't that the point? sure, it makes selling on the black market more valuable for the hackers willing to do that, but it also makes purchasing an iPhone exploit less accessible for anybody else. that's a good thing.
- segmondy 7y ago
  Money is not a problem to Nation state actors. Not even $10M will stop any country. Even an African dictator motivated will easily pay $50M if that means getting what it takes to stay in power.
  - coldtea 7y ago
    African dictators care for mobile OS hacks for staying in power?
    - myrandomcomment 7y ago
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs is a pretty well done video on the rules to be a dictator.
    - roboys 7y ago
      Gathering intelligence is a key part of staying in power.
    - magashna 7y ago
      If it makes it easier to spy on the competition, why not?
briandear 7y ago
They do have to pay tax; that they choose not to is a crime in most countries.
secfirstmd 7y ago
Yeah but that cost has to be passed on at some point to an end consumer. This move from Apple makes people like me, working with human rights defenders and journalists, happy. Why? Because it drives up the costs for the NSO Groups, Hacking Teams and Gammas of this world. They either pass on (and take a hit reducing their revenue/internal capacity) or drive up their costs (making it harder for crappier regimes to afford / reducing the frequency that high end exploits will be used.
- codyb 7y ago
  That seems like a pretty valid viewpoint. The higher the cost, the less people with access, and the more likely people go with Apple’s offer. Besides that, earning a 1 million dollar reward for cracking the iOS kernel is probably a nice ticket to a pretty well paying gig at some security firm.
  - swagasaurus-rex 7y ago
    Right. Being able to claim (with proof) that you collected on a $1,000,000 bounty, from Apple no less, makes you massively more employable no matter where in the world you live.

notatoad 7y ago

>But they also pushed up the price in black market isn't that the point? sure, it makes selling on the black market more valuable for the hackers willing to do that, but it also makes purchasing an iPhone exploit less accessible for anybody else. that's a good thing.

segmondy 7y ago
Money is not a problem to Nation state actors. Not even $10M will stop any country. Even an African dictator motivated will easily pay $50M if that means getting what it takes to stay in power.
- coldtea 7y ago
  African dictators care for mobile OS hacks for staying in power?
  - myrandomcomment 7y ago
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rStL7niR7gs is a pretty well done video on the rules to be a dictator.
  - roboys 7y ago
    Gathering intelligence is a key part of staying in power.
  - magashna 7y ago
    If it makes it easier to spy on the competition, why not?

briandear 7y ago

They do have to pay tax; that they choose not to is a crime in most countries.

secfirstmd 7y ago

Yeah but that cost has to be passed on at some point to an end consumer. This move from Apple makes people like me, working with human rights defenders and journalists, happy. Why? Because it drives up the costs for the NSO Groups, Hacking Teams and Gammas of this world. They either pass on (and take a hit reducing their revenue/internal capacity) or drive up their costs (making it harder for crappier regimes to afford / reducing the frequency that high end exploits will be used.

codyb 7y ago
That seems like a pretty valid viewpoint. The higher the cost, the less people with access, and the more likely people go with Apple’s offer. Besides that, earning a 1 million dollar reward for cracking the iOS kernel is probably a nice ticket to a pretty well paying gig at some security firm.
- swagasaurus-rex 7y ago
  Right. Being able to claim (with proof) that you collected on a $1,000,000 bounty, from Apple no less, makes you massively more employable no matter where in the world you live.