Hackers vow to thwart Apple’s iPhone re-lock/disablement

by admin September 26, 2007 at 9:05 am

“It’s a cat-and-mouse game,” said Steve Jobs. “We try to stay ahead. People will try to break in, and it’s our job to stop them breaking in.”

Indeed.

Yesterday Apple issued a statement declaring that currently available unlocking solutions for using the iPhone on a carrier other than AT&T in the US or other authorized carriers in Europe cause “irreparable damage to the iPhone’s software,” and that an update appearing this week “will likely result in the modified iPhone becoming permanently inoperable.”

Whether or not such a complete disablement of unlocked iPhones by Apple is even possible remains a point of debate, not to mention the implications for Apple’s image that could accompany a mass bricking of devices. However, it could reasonably be claimed that such a disablement would merely be a side effect of necessary iPhone software updates, not an intentional move to punish unlockers.

Full article: iphoneatlas.com