With the release of the iPhone 6s (and 6s Plus) just around the corner and iOS 9 freshly installed on many Apple fans’ devices, the race to find a way to jailbreak the new software—allowing users to install whatever they want/wind up with viruses on an incredibly secure device—is on. And this time around, that race is being funded by Zerodium to the tune of $1 million.
The cybersecurity firm, which specializes in identifying potential software exploits and sells the details to their paying customers, has put a bounty on iOS 9’s head. iOS jailbreaks have steadily accompanied each iteration of Apple’s mobile operating system, and the company’s newest release is the most secure mobile OS on the market, as Zerodium says,
… [D]ue to the increasing number of security improvements and the effectiveness of exploit mitigations in place, Apple’s iOS is currently the most secure mobile OS. But don’t be fooled, secure does not mean unbreakable, it just means that iOS has currently the highest cost and complexity of vulnerability exploitation.
That’s why they’re putting up $3 million ($1 million each to three separate winners) in return for exploits that manage to circumvent Apple’s security. The full rules are available for perusal on Zerodium’s website, but the jailbreak must go through the OS’s web browser or a text message and work across several devices, including the new iPhone 6s.
However, Zerodium doesn’t do the noble thing and report its zero-day exploits—which exist in software currently in use by consumers—to the software makers, so know that if you rise to their challenge, you could be leaving tons of people’s phones open to attack depending on who’s lining up to buy the information from Zerodium. (That’s “law enforcement, governments, and major private companies,” according to Forbes.) Although, I’m sure you could fine plenty of ways to ease your conscience with your newfound riches.
(via Forbes)
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