According to the Mobiputing newswire, the Chronic Dev Team - a coder team that has a solid track record in developing cracks for the iPhone and Ipad operating system - is now crowdsourcing (pooling) information on a planned iOS 5.x jailbreak.
Jailbreaking – aka unlatching - an iOS device allows users to access settings that are normally hidden, install apps that are not available from the iTunes app store, and make other changes to the Apple portable device.
But because the process also unlatches the device from the cellular network, allowing any carrier’s SIM card to be used with the smartphone or tablet computer, Apple – and the cellcos – are totally against the idea.
Conventional jailbreaking typically involves sideloading a new piece of code into any gaps or flaws in the iOS kernel and allied code, but as fast as these elements are exploited, Apple issues an update to seal them shut.
Now the Chronic Dev Team – who developed the Greenpois0n jailbreaking exploit – have released a beta test of a desktop application called the Chronic Dev Crash Reporter.
The app, Infosecurity notes, prevents iTunes on your computer from sending software crash reports to Apple and reroutes those reports to the Chronic Dev Team.
According to Chronic Dev Team, the software – currently available in beta for the Apple Mac platform (Windows is coming soon) - is designed to help the dev team match Apple’s prowess in discovering exploits in iOS.
“Apple has an army of iOS users whose phones automatically generate and send crash reports to Apple, tipping them off to exploits vital to the creation of a jailbreak. Sometimes, these crash reports even come from members of the dev team themselves inadvertently”, says the dev team’s posting on the crowdsourcing plan.
“Using this agglomeration of your crash reports and our ninja skills, Chronic Dev will be able to quickly pinpoint vulnerabilities in various programs by using the same techniques Apple currently employs. At the very least, your data will help point us in the direction of which applications are the most vulnerable, so we can focus our time & energy on these with laser-like intensity”, says the dev team.
“And, of course, this will also prevent Apple from accessing all your valuable data, just so they can then turn around and use it against you”, it adds.