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Apple has special iPhones for security researchers.

echelon 5y ago
Why can't we all be security researchers? Why are we defending this move by Apple? Richard Stallman was right about everything. In twenty years, people will be standing up for Apple as they upload your health data to your employer and insurance provider. "It won't matter if you eat right and exercise," is a quote I expect to hear.
- intricatedetail 5y ago
  "And even if it matters, so what, everyone does it"
- imwillofficial 5y ago
  Because most people don't give a fuck on this topic. It ticks the boxes we need ticked. You're different, that's cool. Shout it from the rooftops. I support you.
kmeisthax 5y ago
Yes, but they're loaner units primarily intended to contractually obligate security researchers to work for Apple. I trust a security researcher using an official Apple device about as well as a Trump-funded 2020 election audit. Apple uses the technical protections on the phone to make it very difficult to actually even be in a position to do security research without also being NDA'd. There is no owner override like there is on, say, M1 Macs. Apple's position is that nobody but them loads OS code onto your iPhone. Not even you - and you can't practically do any research or auditing on things like the CSAM scanner without having the ability to poke around in the OS. If Apple had an owner override on iOS-fused devices, then we could load our own kernels, call into the neuralhash framework, and so on to actually validate that the system does what it says. But that would also mean that Epic could sell Fortnite skins outside of the App Store, and we can't have that. So instead we need to gag and muzzle security researchers... which also makes them no longer independent auditors of the iOS security model.
- imwillofficial 5y ago
  > Trump-funded 2020 election audit How droll. Don't claim in one breath that an iPhone can't be looked at by security researches, and in the next say "well, not the ones I want" I understand if their security research policy doesn't go far enough, but let's not pretend there is nothing.
croes 5y ago
And VW has special software for emission tests. The whole point of security tests is to test on the same iPhones the normal user has without the doubt of special test devices.

Why can't we all be security researchers? Why are we defending this move by Apple? Richard Stallman was right about everything. In twenty years, people will be standing up for Apple as they upload your health data to your employer and insurance provider. "It won't matter if you eat right and exercise," is a quote I expect to hear.

intricatedetail 5y ago
"And even if it matters, so what, everyone does it"
imwillofficial 5y ago
Because most people don't give a fuck on this topic. It ticks the boxes we need ticked. You're different, that's cool. Shout it from the rooftops. I support you.

kmeisthax 5y ago

Yes, but they're loaner units primarily intended to contractually obligate security researchers to work for Apple. I trust a security researcher using an official Apple device about as well as a Trump-funded 2020 election audit. Apple uses the technical protections on the phone to make it very difficult to actually even be in a position to do security research without also being NDA'd. There is no owner override like there is on, say, M1 Macs. Apple's position is that nobody but them loads OS code onto your iPhone. Not even you - and you can't practically do any research or auditing on things like the CSAM scanner without having the ability to poke around in the OS. If Apple had an owner override on iOS-fused devices, then we could load our own kernels, call into the neuralhash framework, and so on to actually validate that the system does what it says. But that would also mean that Epic could sell Fortnite skins outside of the App Store, and we can't have that. So instead we need to gag and muzzle security researchers... which also makes them no longer independent auditors of the iOS security model.

imwillofficial 5y ago
> Trump-funded 2020 election audit How droll. Don't claim in one breath that an iPhone can't be looked at by security researches, and in the next say "well, not the ones I want" I understand if their security research policy doesn't go far enough, but let's not pretend there is nothing.

croes 5y ago

And VW has special software for emission tests. The whole point of security tests is to test on the same iPhones the normal user has without the doubt of special test devices.