Apple keeps its source code under tight lock and key – it’s one component of the company which has made it such a dominant force in technology for the past decade, especially with its mobile phones. Unfortunately, a large-scale leak of source code was discovered and proves to be the “biggest leak in history,” according to security researcher Jonathan Levin’s comments to Motherboard.
The code in question belongs to Apple’s iBoot, the code that runs on the iPhone before iOS gets started. Even though it’s from iOS 9, it could still potentially pose security risks for users on the current version of iOS via back doors and reverse engineering.
According to NY Post, Apple has not confirmed the authenticity of the leak. It is also not clear how the code ended up on Github in the first place.
NY Post notes that the code was actually shared on Reddit around a year ago, and it just went unnoticed (by most). The code was likely seen by few users who have been working on exploiting vulnerabilities for months in secret, or perhaps not.
Fortunately, new devices that have a Secure Enclave Processor don’t have to worry about brute-force attacks via lock screen exploits.
via NY Post