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Jailbreak or Root Detection: A False Sense of Security, Part I
- aaronchall 11y agoExcerpt: Reality: Jailbreak/Rooting can be good for security Since the user essentially needs to exploit their device to gain root access, why would they want to do this? In practice, Bluebox Labs has seen a variety of legitimate, non-nefarious reasons to jailbreak or root devices. Some of these include, but are not limited to: Unlock the device from the carrier it is bound to Either their contract is up, or they bought a carrier-locked phone on the internet and they wish to move it to a different network provider Remove bloatware that was pre-installed on the device Android devices commonly come with a countless number of manufacturer/carrier applications and add-ons that users see as bloatware that take up memory and slow-down performance. Patch major vulnerabilities that have not been patched yet by the vendor Patching the vulnerability that made the rooting or jailbreaking possible blocks malicious apps or users from exploiting it Enhance the security of their device Manage the root certificates Manage the permissions granted to apps Modify the look and feel of the software Load a 3rd party ROM like Cyanogen on their device for enhanced functionality Update a device that no longer receives updates from the manufacturer (a common occurrence on Android and older iOS versions and devices) HTC One Mini and One Mini 2 did not receive the update to Android Lollipop iPhone 4 did not receive the update for iOS 8