Upon completion of the WWDC conference earlier this month, Apple released a preview of iOS 10 for developers. Unlike previous versions of the platform, it included a great surprise: an unencrypted kernel.
For those who don't know we refer to the core of the operating system, which controls how applications can use the data του υλικού μιας συσκευής και εφαρμόζει διάφορα πρωτόκολλα security.
Leaving the kernel uncovered does not mean that iOS 10 will be prone to attacks. Instead, Apple's new approach leaves more room for researchers to find ways to make the kernel safer.
So while at first everyone thought it was a very big mistake on her part company, Apple released a statement saying the move was intentional:
"By decrypting (the kernel) we will be able to optimize the performance of the operating system without compromising security."
Apple didn't specify how this could improve performance, but there is a clear benefit to decrypting the kernel: iOS fans will be able to discover bugs and report them to the company before the final version is released and installed by millions Appliances.
MIT's Technology Review says this approach could help closing more security flaws in Apple's software and make it more difficult for government agencies to gain unauthorized access to the company's devices, as they did in the case of the San Bernardino iPhone .
Ωστόσο, η Apple καλά θα κάνει να δώσει επιπλέον κίνητρα στους προγραμματιστές για την αναφορά σφαλμάτων με τη δρομολόγηση κάποιου προγράμματος bug bounty. Οι αντίπαλοι της εταιρείας Google and Microsoft already have similar initiatives. It seems that Apple has decided to get in on the game as well.
Here, we should mention that the opening of the iOS kernel will probably upset jailbreakers as the species is expected to disappear.
