Monday, August 16, 2010

iPad Was Released With Known Security Issue

Apple released the iPad with a known security issue that would allow a hacker to take over the machine:

When Apple released its Safari browser with the catchy slogan “Secure From Day 1" it took only a few hours for major security holes to be exposed by hackers. (Note to Steve Jobs: Don’t challenge those guys. They WILL take you up on it!) Within days, the iPhone’s security had been unraveled and “unlocked” phones became available. And Apple publishes a manual on how to reduce security threats to their operating system. It is 270 pages long. It’s not that Apple is per se inferior to Microsoft, it’s just that it also isn’t per se superior. Just more obscure.

Last spring, a major security hole in Safari was exposed which allowed a remote user to completely take over a Safari user’s machine simply by accessing ports which the browser didn’t bother to close off.


A security patch was issued, but applied only to the desktop version. Months later the mobile version, which is used on iPad, still had not been patched, and the iPad was released with that known risk to users.