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Sorry for the sensational headline, but that's what I immediately thought of when I read about Apple's request to the US Copyright Office, which is considering legalizing the process of jailbreaking iPhones.
Apple says that this could allow hackers to launch denial of service attacks using the AT&T network. And a DoS attack on the AT&T network that disrupts communication, in my mind at least, could very well be the prelude to a serious terrorist attack.
A couple of problems here. Jailbreaking does not equate to DoS. Perhaps launching DDoS attacks could be one of the application of an unlocked iPhone, just like running over people could be an application of a motor vehicle. So should we ban cars as well?
Another problem is that even if the copyright office makes jailbreaking illegal, the hackers will still unlock the iPhones and launch their DoS attacks, it's not as if they need permission from the US Copyright Office to do so. And if the copyright office makes jailbreaking legal, then it is still a crime to launch DoS attacks, just like how computers are legal but using a computer to hack into the Pentagon is not. So should we ban computers as well?
And if, as Apple says, that the iPhone can be so easily made to "treat AT&T's cellular network like their own personal playground", then isn't that a serious design flaw for the iPhone? Could you at least make it so that an iPhone cannot be used to bring down the entire AT&T network just because someone installed a piece of software on it?
What Apple is really concerned about is homebrew software, free software that bypasses the Apple Apps stores which will serious hurt Apple's potential revenue. That's all they're worried about, not some imaginary attack on AT&T.
My opinion: If I'm made to pay thousands of dollars for a phone, you better make sure I can do everything I want to do with it.
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Apple says that this could allow hackers to launch denial of service attacks using the AT&T network. And a DoS attack on the AT&T network that disrupts communication, in my mind at least, could very well be the prelude to a serious terrorist attack.
A couple of problems here. Jailbreaking does not equate to DoS. Perhaps launching DDoS attacks could be one of the application of an unlocked iPhone, just like running over people could be an application of a motor vehicle. So should we ban cars as well?
Another problem is that even if the copyright office makes jailbreaking illegal, the hackers will still unlock the iPhones and launch their DoS attacks, it's not as if they need permission from the US Copyright Office to do so. And if the copyright office makes jailbreaking legal, then it is still a crime to launch DoS attacks, just like how computers are legal but using a computer to hack into the Pentagon is not. So should we ban computers as well?
And if, as Apple says, that the iPhone can be so easily made to "treat AT&T's cellular network like their own personal playground", then isn't that a serious design flaw for the iPhone? Could you at least make it so that an iPhone cannot be used to bring down the entire AT&T network just because someone installed a piece of software on it?
What Apple is really concerned about is homebrew software, free software that bypasses the Apple Apps stores which will serious hurt Apple's potential revenue. That's all they're worried about, not some imaginary attack on AT&T.
My opinion: If I'm made to pay thousands of dollars for a phone, you better make sure I can do everything I want to do with it.
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Turn down the suck...Turn up the 
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