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0 pointsrealusername5y ago0 comments

It always depends on which side of "security" we're talking about. You could argue that not having access to security tweaks & not being able to see what's going on because the OS is so locked down is a security issue in itself which can be solved by jailbreaking.

Currently, sharing security issues with Apple is a guaranteed that the tooling you are using to get access to your device won't work anymore, there's definitely an bad incentive to not report security flaws at the moment.

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tptacek5y ago

That's right, which is why we called it "jailbreaking" in the 1990s when someone got mad at you on IRC and jailbroke your machine and stole your mail spool. I mean, jailbroke your mail spool.

I take your point, which is that jailbreaking is good if what you want is to run random unapproved code on your machine. But you didn't seriously engage with the comment you rebutted, because it is also true that jailbreak prevention prevents persistent kernel compromise --- is in fact a predicate for preventing persistent kernel compromise --- which is a thing that really does happen; in fact, it's far more relevant to the overwhelming majority of Apple users than running unapproved code is.

realusernameOP5y ago

I don't really have the same opinion on this, I consider the obscurity of the platform a security issue by itself. At the end of the day, remote jailbreak exploits are pretty rare nowadays so you need to have a real access to the machine.

To have an idea if an app is sharing your data you need to be jailbroken, to have an idea of what is being sent from your device you need to be jailbroken, to force a stricter control on apps you also need to be jailbroken. I mean, you get the point. Any action you could do regarding security requires you to be jailbroken first.

tptacek5y ago

We're discussing this on a story about an untethered jailbreak --- a kernel RCE.

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0 pointsrealusername5y ago0 comments

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tptacek5y ago

That's right, which is why we called it "jailbreaking" in the 1990s when someone got mad at you on IRC and jailbroke your machine and stole your mail spool. I mean, jailbroke your mail spool.

realusernameOP5y ago

tptacek5y ago

We're discussing this on a story about an untethered jailbreak --- a kernel RCE.

3 more replies

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse