Apple Says Legalizing Jailbreaking Would Let People Steal Cell Service, Help Drug Dea [Archive]

View Full Version : Apple Says Legalizing Jailbreaking Would Let People Steal Cell Service, Help Drug Dea

Edward Kirk

July 29th, 2009, 06:29 PM

<div id="inlinead" class="inlinead"><IFRAME src="http://adserver1.backbeatmedia.com/servlet/ajrotator/13894/222/viewHTML?pool=13886&type=3158&pos=20&zone=5000" width="300" height="250" align="middle" frameborder=0 marginwidth=0 marginheight=0 scrolling=no><script language="JavaScript" src="http://adserver1.backbeatmedia.com/servlet/ajrotator/13894/222/viewJScript?pool=13886&type=3158&pos=20&zone=5000"></script></IFRAME></div><div class="nodecontent"><img src="http://www.iphonealley.com/images/storyimages/apple_chrome.jpg" align="right"/>

Apple has responded to questions submitted to them from the Copyright Office concerning a proposed DCMA exemption for jailbreaking iPhones proposed by the EFF. Apple claims that not only is the iPhone's DRM a crucial part of their business model, but it also that jailbreaking could actually help facilitate drug dealers and crash cell towers. 

The response was to a question about what harm could come from jailbreaking the devices, asking if it could damage it's functionality. Apple responded with a long list of possible scenarios that could arise. The one they focused on was hacking the baseband. They claim that if jailbreaking were legal, there would be nothing to stop them from tinkering around with it and modifying it or altering the device's Exclusive Chip Identification (ECID) number. This would allow hackers to make free phone calls, exceed carrier limits on data use, and even allow drug dealers to make anonymous phone calls.

<blockquote>"More pernicious forms of activity may also be enabled," wrote Apple. "For example, a local or international hacker could potentially initiate commands (such as a denial of service attack) that could crash the tower software, rendering the tower entirely inoperable to process calls or transmit data."</blockquote>

[via <a href="http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/07/apple-claims-jailbreaking-could-bring-down-the-network.ars?utm_source=microblogging&utm_medium=arstch&utm_term=Infinite%20Loop&utm_campaign=microblogging" target="_blank">ArsTechnica</a>]</div>

Stephen007

July 29th, 2009, 09:11 PM

While possible a lot of this sounds like they are stretching the truth awfully far.

foamysking

July 29th, 2009, 10:55 PM

and now the people who would do such a thing now know it can be done and it might be but really whats the point to bring a tower it its knees you are only screwing yourself and if someone who would want to would use a $15 phone in the first place

iPhoneManiac

July 30th, 2009, 12:54 PM

Eurisko

July 30th, 2009, 02:16 PM

Now this is all a bit farfetched...

Let me see here, you are telling me that making jailbreaking illegal will be what prevents drug dealers from misusing iPhones. Amazing...

Then you want me to believe that making jailbreaking illegal will prevent people from using phones to somehow crash cell phone towers. Yeah, that would certainly be what prevents someone from engaging in such an activity.

When a company has to scrape the barrel this low you know they have no leg to stand on.

By JB'ing the phone, you are given direct access to the Baseband and Radio, which then in turn enables direct access to cell towers. Working for a wireless communications company I can tell you its not an issue to be made fun of. Try calling 911 on a deactivated tower, see whose laughing then.

iPhoneManiac

July 30th, 2009, 02:24 PM

By JB'ing the phone, you are given direct access to the Baseband and Radio, which then in turn enables direct access to cell towers. Working for a wireless communications company I can tell you its not an issue to be made fun of. Try calling 911 on a deactivated tower, see whose laughing then.

Merely making light of the assumption that making jailbreaking illegal will prevent misuse of iPhones by someone bent on dealing drugs or crashing cell phone towers.

I condone neither crashing cell towers nor dealing in illegal drugs.

Eurisko

July 30th, 2009, 02:31 PM

Merely making light of the assumption that making jailbreaking illegal will prevent misuse of iPhones by someone bent on dealing drugs or crashing cell phone towers.

I condone neither crashing cell towers nor dealing in illegal drugs.

No, it will not prevent such occurrences, but it would provide criminal punishment for those to do misuse the device. If someone crashes a cell tower currently, all they have to say is "gee, I didn't know what I was doing, sorry" and their off the hook.

iPhoneManiac

July 30th, 2009, 02:37 PM

No, it will not prevent such occurrences, but it would provide criminal punishment for those to do misuse the device. If someone crashes a cell tower currently, all they have to say is "gee, I didn't know what I was doing, sorry" and their off the hook.

A more narrowly tailored law would meet the need you describe (and I suspect such a law may well be already on the books).

One could misuse a pickup truck in a manner that would cause a cell tower to malfunction. However few would suggest making pickup trucks illegal.

Edward Kirk

July 30th, 2009, 03:04 PM

No, it will not prevent such occurrences, but it would provide criminal punishment for those to do misuse the device. If someone crashes a cell tower currently, all they have to say is "gee, I didn't know what I was doing, sorry" and their off the hook.

Not so. Jailbreaking is currently illegal, so they could be punished for that if it was proven that they did indeed break Apple's DCMA rights. It's a shaky argument, and it's obvious that it's primarily to maintain their DCMA rights and keep jailbreaking illegal, but it's a valid one nonetheless.

What is really scary is the fact that so far Apple hasn't actually enforced these rights on people who violate them, yet they're still fighting hard to stop it. Hopefully it will stay that way, but I have to wonder if it will.