Apple iOS4.2 signature check to foil hackers?
Apple has pulled out one more weapon against the hackers that make iPhone / iPad jailbreaking and unlocking. Will the advent of the baseband signature check make life much harder for the hackers?
The story is a long and lively one, even in its broadest full-tapestry form. Manufacturers of electronic devices build lock and barriers against chicanery into their hardware and software. Hackers then tear apart both hardware and software to learn how to defeat the protection built in by the makers. There have been times when it seemed like the makers made hacking such a pain that it wasn’t worth it, but usually some exploit is found and the hackers get in. Such is the normal state of the battle between Apple, maker of the iPhone and iPad, and legions of iPhone and iPad hackers.
In the current round, hackers announced that they were already prepared with the tools, to be offered free on line, to jailbreak and unlock your Apple mobile device the instant you loaded the shiny new iOS4.2 onto it. Apple, though, seems to be holding up a new stop sign, at least on the unlocking side, and it may not be as easy as that. Without getting to technical, every time the phone’s firmware starts 4.2, is checks a unique thing called a baseband signature, according to a TUAW story. If it’s wrong, the device won’t work. Therefore, the phone cannot be unlocked, since the baseband firmware controls the ability to make phone calls. Or not. Will this work? Probably for a while. But this is only one round.
