The company's filing explained that jailbreaking could allow hackers to altering the iPhone's BBP - the "baseband processor" software, which enables a connection to cell phone towers.
By tinkering with this code, "a local or international hacker could potentially initiate commands (such as a denial of service attack) that could crash the tower software, rendering the tower entirely inoperable to process calls or transmit data," Apple wrote the government. "Taking control of the BBP software would be much the equivalent of getting inside the firewall of a corporate computer - to potentially catastrophic result.
The EFF points out that other phones—like the Android-powered G1 offered by T-Mobile—are also capable of being turned into weapons, and we all know that the Palm Pre can be used to attack cheese. Perhaps we should actually license these things before someone gets hurt.
"iPhone Jailbreaking Could Crash Cellphone Towers, Apple Claims" [Threat Level]
]]>Apple has been drinking AT&T's kool-aid, it would seem. Blaming others for your own failures and launching a witch-hunt is ALWAYS a good idea, after all! If this is even possible in the first place, it's because a number of engineers were seriously asleep at the wheel (or grossly incompetent) at both Apple and AT&T.
]]>@amercer: This. Is somebody out there really going to say "Well, I WAS going to bring down a nation's communications network and kill a few dozen people... but I don't want to break the DMCA."? I'm similarly baffled by MS putting "Do not make illegal copies of this disc." on their CDs and DVDs. If the law won't stop me, why would a command from someone who has no authority over me?
]]>Or maybe we should stop focusing on methodologies and isntead focus on general recognition of people up to no good (remember when this was a survival skill for police?) and rapid, generally-capable response.
]]>Jailbreaking is not a crime!
]]>Dear Applekid
GTFO and take your logic with you.
Hugs and Kisses,
Apple and AT&T
I mean, I totally agree with you and feel that your comment was totally appropriate and fair, but Apple and AT&T disagree with me and I really needed the $1,800...
]]>Same kind of deal. If you were planning on using your iPhone for any kind of terrorist attack, then a DMCA suit would be the least of your troubles.
]]>@takes_so_little: Maybe they meant that you actually couldn't physically do it? Like, if you tried to lay the disk on the computer, it would evaporate into nothingness? :P
]]>I will agree that Apple is the worst offender at this kind of thing, though.
]]>@MostlyHarmless:
Really? I never would have guessed!
*Watches the sarcasm drip from the monitor and short circuit his keyboard* Damn!
]]>@cristiana:
O.o ....You DO realize that we're talking about Apple here, right?
Wishfull thinking much?
Fanboi? Fangrrl?
Apple = bad IMHO. Almost as bad as Micro$oft.
]]>And if it involves torture, Cheney's Law or Yoo's Law.
]]>:) Funny.
I was going to make a separate post about this but I'm lazy: Everyone seems to be missing the point that Apple is just using the hacking aurgment to protect their own device. They could give a shit about terrorism. It's just a way to get what they really want from the gov.
]]>@ceriphim: Win...
]]>@edguitar: I'm keeping an iron grip on mine! You can't take it away from me!
]]>I also love how, by arguing how everything could potentially be used for terrorism, they're could just as easily be giving terrorists ideas. Quick America, we've got to stop thinking up scenarios like these, otherwise we're supporting terrorism!
]]>@vastrightwing: The problem is that would like people to want it even more. You lnow people are always inclide to the forbidden
]]>@novacthall:
+1
@TCama:
My gosh, you're right! It all seems so obvious now...
]]>While the firmware isn't open like the android platform, it's available for download and anyone with the knowledge can disassemble it and try to reverse engineer it.
]]>You'll have to jump to YouTube to watch.
]]>@MostlyHarmless: Jobs should make the iBlow specially design for terrorists it costs a little more but now we can't balme them for everything done witha cell phone
]]>@Shadowman615: Giuliani's Law.
]]>@squinko - applauds the death of FBC: And I was going to blame the sharks.
]]>my html skilz don't pay no bilz.
]]>Ooooo-EEEeee-uuuuuu!
]]>But in this day and age, we have John McClane and Jack Bauer. The world is fine, so long as we've got lots of ammo, intense music, ticking clocks, and roadways open for extensive high-speed chase scenes!
]]>This is hilarious. They are basically arguing you shouldn't be able to buy ANY COMPUTING DEVICE that is not locked down, including your own home computer.
]]>Jobs has always been that way.
He does whatever he wants and then attacks others for doing the same thing.
]]>Bring it, "terrorists"!
]]>So I guess we are all going to have to surrender our computers. Being of brown skin and possessing 6 computers, I bet I'll be shipped to gitmo asap.
]]>Apple is asking the Copyright Office to stop terrorism. The Copyright Office. Terrorism.
Remember kids, copyright stops terrorism.
]]>How will the Copyright Office stop a terrorist from jailbreaking the phone? A person who is willing to do this will do so regardless of laws or copyrights. Instructions on how to do this will still be online. The Copyright Office can do nothing to stop this. The only good the Copyright Office can do Apple is to go after non-terrorists who are trying to jailbreak their phone for personal use.
]]>Everytime you jailbreak an iPhone, the terrorists win.
]]>Its kind of the old "DRM" argument. "We put DRM in so our customers can't do illegal things with their software and music." "Um....but these are the people paying for it...the hackers break your DRM in a day anyhow...why punish customers who actually pay money?" "Errr"
]]>X is illegal.
Y allows X.
Therefore, Y should be illegal.
Under that logic, we should also outlaw breathing (lets those terrorists live long enough to terrorize people), cars (lets those terrorists drive places to terrorize people), clothes (let those suicidal terrorists hide their suicide-making explosives), etc, etc, etc.
In order to convince me (or any other thinking person) that Jailbreaking should be illegal, they need to demonstrate that the primary purpose of such a process is to facilitate an illegal act.
Of course, my sister Jailbroke her iPhone for the same reason many people do it: So that she could put a new theme on it. Not exactly a terrorist act.
]]>There's an app for that!
]]>iPhone ... the latest weapon of mass destruction
]]>