Apple's Hackable iPhones Are Finally Here
Last August, Apple announced that it would distribute special iPhones to elite security researchers. The idea was to offer a device that had fewer constraints, allowing researchers to home in on security vulnerabilities more easily without first having to work around standard iOS defenses. Starting today, those devices are finally going into circulation.
Apple is opening its security research device program to analysts with an established track record of finding iOS bugs, as well as those with expertise in other platforms who want to start on iOS. The company will loan the devices for a year with the possibility to renew, and participants will also gain access to new security forums focused on the devices. If researchers "find, test, validate, verify, or confirm" a vulnerability using one of the special iPhones they must report it to Apple—and any relevant third parties—under the terms of the loan agreement.
Historically, relationships between Apple and the security have been strained, in part because Cupertino has offered so little visibility into iOS. The new research phones serve as something of an olive branch, with the added benefit of helping shore up iPhone security. Outside professionals can investigate iOS from different angles, helping find problems that may arise after an attacker bypasses iOS defenses.
