Jobs says Apple will fight iPhone unlock hacking
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Apple Inc. will do what it can to fend off hackers trying to unlock the company's popular iPhone, but he acknowledged that doing so won't be easy.
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Hackers have found a way to use  Apple Inc's  iPhone on networks other than AT&T Inc's  , opening up the coveted device to rival carriers and  overseas customers, according to a Web report on Friday.
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Apple Inc.  will allow  independent developers to write applications for its upcoming  iPhone by tapping into the device's built-in Web browser, Chief  Executive Steve Jobs said on Monday.
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Video shows it working? A utility claimed to be the world's first software tool for unlocking the Apple iPhone was launched yesterday, even as hardware hackers said they'd figured out how to get the same result by tweaking the gadget itself.â¦
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Apple, as expected, has released another update for its iPhone, closing 10 security holes and leaving those who unlocked their iPhones wondering whether it will render their phones inoperable.
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The iPhone Dev team said it will fight any attempt by Apple to "brick" iPhones that have been unlocked by owners using its anySIM software.
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(InfoWorld) - iPhone hackers have some new tools now, thanks to HD Moore, one of the developers of the Metasploit hacking software. On Tuesday, Moore announced that he was supporting the iPhone within his Metasploit framework and released software that would allow hackers to run "shellcode" command prompts on Apple's mobile device. By integrating the iPhone into Metasploit, it will now be a little easier for hackers to gain access to someone else's iPhone, but they will also need a few other tools to succeed. First, they will need to create working exploit code, which takes advantage of bugs in Apple's software, to trick the device into running the shellcode. They will also need to create more sophisticated "payload" applications that can do things like remotely connect with the hacker. "It's a first step," Moore said of his hack. With iPhone prices dropping and noticeable improvements in the quality of iPhone hacking tools, Apple's phone has become a more interesting target of late, Moore said. And the iPhone has obviously hit a nerve in the security community. Moore said that about a quarter of the attendees at the recent Black Hat conference in Las Vegas had the devices. "It's trendy," he said. "It kind of creeped me out when I saw how many people had iPhones when I went to Vegas." In fact, hackers have already developed a number of exploits that they claim could be used on the iPhone's Safari browser. And security researchers have even demonstrated how the iPhone can be compromised. In July, a Baltimore, Maryland, company called Independent Security Evaluators showed howÂ it could run unauthorized software on an iPhone by taking advantage of a Safari bug. Moore believes that the iPhone's browser and mail client will be the best sources of bugs and he said that because of the components and information stored on the phone, it may end up being a more attractive target than the PC. For example, the phone could be used to track someone's location based on information from cell phone towers. Throw in the iPhone's microphone, camera, and an Internet connection, and you suddenly have a device that could be used to secretly keep tabs on people, Moore said. "If you look at what you get by exploiting someone's iPhone, you actually get a lot more than you do from someone's PC a lot of the time," he said.
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If you hacked your iPhone to run it on a network other than AT&T's, the next iPhone software update could leave you with an iBrick, Apple said Monday.
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SEATTLE _ At a much-touted duel of tech-industry icons in Carlsbad, Calif., Wednesday night, Apple Chief Executive Steve Jobs is expected to brandish the iPhone, but Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates will also have some new firepower at hand.
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(InfoWorld) - With the release of Apple's iPhone on June 29, IT managers are hustling to find ways to support the devices, anticipating the moment when the CEO walks in with one and demands, "Give me my corporate e-mail on this gizmo." Analysts and IT managers said Thursday the iPhone will be popular among their workers who buy them for consumer uses, but the devices will certainly challenge businesses because of the needed support for e-mail, iTunes songs, and other applications. For example, at communications conglomerate ABC in New York, the official policy, for now, is not to support the iPhone at all, but there will be some exceptions for top executives. "At this point, with a few exceptions, the iPhone is not a supported device, but for one or two ABC presidents, we'll make the walls move to allow it because we're in the communications business" and they will want to see iPhone's capabilities, said Jeff Plotkin, an engineer for broadcast operations and a technology liaison at ABC. "We'll figure out how to allow them access to e-mail." Plotkin and other IT managers said there will be plenty of iPhone allure for their workers even though the multifunction device doesn't support Lotus Notes or Windows Outlook e-mail, which are popular in corporate settings. Instead, iPhone will provide a Web access client for e-mail access, analysts noted. "After it is out and the price point comes down, more people here might set up a business case for it, saying it could do this or that," Plotkin added. "I can see our policy changing eventually." Also, the iPhone will pose a nightmare for IT because it requires an iTunes music directory account for each user, IT managers said, putting IT in the position potentially of providing song storage capacity and justifying that the copyrights for the songs were not violated or that the songs were properly paid for. "How many enterprises want iTunes software running around in the enterprise?" asked Gartner analyst Ken Dulaney. Meanwhile, corporate policy at Marriott already prohibits iTunes registration on Marriott's systems by its workers, said Arnaldo Impelizieri, director of hotel technology for the Grande Lakes Orlando resort, which is run by Marriott. "We're worried about the size of iTunes files and also who is buying songs or not, and the huge concern about potential copyright infringements," he said. However, Impelizieri said the hotel chain faces a dilemma because it will want to support the iPhone, and iTunes, for its hotel guests. "If a customer has one, we'll do our best to support it, but that will require some sorting out. We have to get our hands on the iPhone and see if it's all that it's beefed up to be. When BlackBerry first came out, there was a wave of uncertainty at first." For months, industry analysts have warned about e-mail access, security, and whether the voice quality of the iPhone will be up to corporate standards. Dulaney is finalizing a report describing iPhone concerns but would not discuss it until its release next week. "Lots of Gartner clients are asking" about iPhone for business uses, Dulaney said. "They are scared of this device." Tim Ma, a biomedical engineer at the American Red Cross in Washington who also handles some IT planning, said he expects "pressure from users" to support the iPhone. "It's too early in the game to say if we'd support it. We'd need a proven track record before moving forward." He said he is personally curious about iPhone's features and potential benefits for a large organization and will eventually test it out thoroughly. For one thing, the iPhone will have a full-screen Web browser, an apparent advantage over what Reseach in Motion's BlackBerry offers the Red Cross. Meanwhile, he added, "We have a contract with BlackBerry for a long time." Jack Gold, an analyst at J. Gold Associates, said he doesn't consider the iPhone as currently envisioned suitable for business users unless they limit their use to functions like the phone. "IPhone doesn't have push e-mail," he noted. Early reviews from February that the iPhone's voice quality was not good have raised questions as well, he said. "Everybody assumes that because Apple makes it, the iPhone will be great, but it's hard to make a good phone, let alone pass data," Gold said. "Still, executives are going to come back from the store and tell IT to make it work."
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(InfoWorld) - Hackers who unlock Apple's iPhone from the AT&T network and share the method with 10 million of their closest Internet friends are inviting a lawsuit from the two companies, several intellectual property (IP)Â lawyers said Monday. Apple and AT&T may have a legal case against unlockers under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), especially if they try to sell software code or devices that unlock the iPhone, the lawyers said. But the legal landscape gets a bit complicated -- there's a legal exception to the DMCA's anticircumvention provisions that allows individual mobile phone users to unlock their devices for use on other networks. So figuring out how to unlock the iPhone yourself is not likely to be a DMCA violation, most of the IP lawyers said. But posting instructions or code online, even for free, may earn you a cease-and-desist letter from an unfriendly lawyer, and selling software or a device that unlocks the phone is inviting trouble, most of the lawyers said. But there's plenty of disagreement among IP lawyers about the interpretation of the DMCA. "It's an extremely grey [area], because I don't think the exemption was altogether clear," said Bart Showalter, an intellectual property lawyer in Dallas with the Baker Botts LLP law firm. "The idea of trying to use copyright to, in a sense, establish exclusivity in a service contract ... is going to be an interesting thing to watch." John McLaughlin, founder of Uniquephones, based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, had planned to release software Saturday that wouldÂ allow users to unlock their iPhone. But early Saturday morning, McLaughlin said he received a phone call from a man saying he was from a law firm representing AT&T. The caller saidÂ McLaughlin could be sued for copyright infringement. Two other groups have claimed to have unlocked the iPhone. Representatives of both AT&T and Apple declined to comment Monday on possible legal actions against unlockers. Showalter suggested that unlocking the iPhone and posting code or instructions for free would likely fall under the exception to the DMCA's anticircumvention provisions, thus protecting the unlocker from legal action. The exception allows circumvention of device controls "for the sole purpose of lawfully connecting to a wireless telephone communication network," according to language from the U.S. registrar of copyrights. So if a hacker unlocks the iPhone, then posts the unlocking code for free, he's engaging in a legal activity and enabling others to engage in the same legal activity, said Michael Lewis, an IP lawyer with Fox Rothschild LLP. If that hacker is sued, he could probably argue that posting of the unlocking code is protected by free speech provisions in U.S. law, according to Lewis. Other IP lawyers disagreed. Movie studios have successfully sued Web site operators for distributing the DeCSS DVD-copying code, noted Carole Handler, an IP lawyer with Foley and Lardner LLP. The unlocker of the iPhone who posts code online could be held liable for secondary copyright infringement, she said. "I don't see that [Apple and AT&T] have a choice," Handler said. "They have to do something. If you don't protect your intellectual property, it's gone." Lewis' colleague, Gerry Norton, agreed, saying the unlocking exception was narrowly written. "The exception was just for the end-user," he said. Most of the lawyers agreed that selling software to unlock the iPhone, as McLaughlin was planning to do, would invite a lawsuit under the DMCA. "The courts seem to have less sympathy for people who are doing things to make a buck," Lewis said. But there wasn't even unanimous agreement on the legal liability of selling unlocking software. If the software being distributed targeted only the network lock on the iPhone, the developer could have a defense, Showalter said. "It does seem a little unusual to me that they say somebody can unlock their phone, but if someone tells them how to do it, that's a violation of the DMCA," he said. "If the software that's being sold is only doing the minimum amount that's necessary to allow it to interoperate with other services, you may have some support in the DMCA exception." Beyond the legal questions about unlocking the iPhone, Apple and AT&T could face their own legal challenges, Handler said. The exclusive contract between the two companies could lead to an antitrust lawsuit if a competitor or customer could successfully argue there's no other device like the iPhone available on the market, she said. "Consumers want new technology," she said. "This is the era of the consumer controlling the media. When the consumer is told he or she can't do something, they get pretty upset, and they start claiming conspiracy, antitrust, and the whole bit."
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A 17-year-old New Jersey resident has published instructions on how to unlock Appleâs iPhone so it will work on some competing cellular networks.
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Apple Inc , faced with an  outcry from iPhone customers who bought the device before a  sharp price cut, will offer them a $100 store credit, Chief  Executive Steve Jobs said on Thursday.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. - In an apparent about-face, Apple Inc. will allow third-party applications to work directly on the iPhone, chief executive Steve Jobs said in a posting on the company's website yesterday.
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InfoWorld - Two claims of unlocking Apple&#39;s iPhone have surfaced in recent days, and a third is set to be announced Saturday.
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Analysts are telling companies that the iPhone isn't designed for business use and they'd be better off keeping it out of their workers' hands. Try telling that to the worker -- or the CEO -- who wants one.
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A well-known hacker  claims to have overcome restrictions on Apple Inc.&#39;s iPhone,  allowing highly technical users to bypass AT&T Inc.&#39;s network  to use the phone&#39;s Internet and music features.