Latest Apple jailbreak seen as commercial opportunity
iOS7 crack mired in controversy after suspect Chinese app store is included in download
Each year, Apple releases a new version of the software running its iconic mobile devices, the iPhone and iPad. And each year, a small but dogged community of hackers sets out to crack it - or, in the words of the hackers, "jailbreak" it.
The liberation imagery long seemed apt. Apple puts strict limits on how its devices can be used, requiring, for example, that all apps be bought through the company's lucrative iTunes store. By comparison, the hackers styled themselves as plucky hobbyists seeking freedom from what they derided as Apple's "walled garden" and into a promised land of virtually limitless new software.
That image has taken a beating in recent days as prominent hackers have battled allegations that they've been working not for ideals but for money. The supposed payoffs would have come from Chinese investors eager to cash in on the spread of Apple products on the mainland.
Although there is no evidence money changed hands, the controversy has highlighted how Apple's restrictions on its mobile devices have fuelled the creation of alternative marketplaces, where the thrill of trying to outsmart one of the world's richest firms mixes with at least the possibility of fat profits for those who succeed.
If you jailbreak [Apple devices], it means there are millions of more apps to sell
"Anything that can open up a whole new line of sales on [Apple devices] is certainly worth a lot to somebody," said Brian Krebs, who covers internet security issues on his blog, KrebsOnSecurity. "If you jailbreak it, it means there are millions of more apps to sell."
Apps for mobile devices earned nearly US$27 billion last year and are projected to earn more than US$76 billion in 2017, with Google's Android operating system and Apple's iOS platform the dominant players, according to Gartner, a research firm.