Updated: iPhone hacked to work in Europe without AT&T SIM card

A team at hakint0sh.org and a 28 year old hacker from Macedonia have finally accomplished what we have all been waiting for. They claim that they have successfully hacked the iPhone to function with European Sim Cards.

Senad, who was previously heavily involved in the Digital Satellite scene and worked on several projects for Digiturk Cryptworks. Now, he tells us that this hack can be accomplished with nothing more than a simple SIM card reader/writer and some software.

The "SIM-Clone" hack enables functionality of the iPhone in Europe, with both incoming and outgoing calls, as well as SMS and EDGE access. "It was only a matter of time," said Senad.

The hack requires a V1Comp SIM card, a smart card reader/writer, and a silver smart card with PIC16F877+24LC64 eeprom, something that should be available in most satellite stores.

However

VideoGamer.com managed to get a hold of Senad (online alias "Deepdark") for a few words.

VideoGamer: How did you get involved in mobile phone hacking?

Deepdark: (Laughs) It’s a challenge. In early years when mobile phones started working we were unlocking the phones at home for a hobby. After that I became involved in satellite TV hacking and simcloning, and so on. Dreambox, hackings, emus, gbox and stuff like that.

VideoGamer: Do you think hackers have an unfairly bad reputation?

Deepdark: Listen, let’s talk about the iPhone situation. Apple has 10000 employees and they are against us because we are bricking them by hacking their protection. On another side are end users who are 1,000,000 strong maybe. They are happy. So like you see, it’s a big difference.

VideoGamer: But isn’t it Apple’s right to have their own protection on their products?

Deepdark: Yes, but you can’t sell a car and then say to the buyer, “hey listen, you must drive 50kmh”. It’s so stupid.

VideoGamer: So hackers are giving consumers what they’ve paid for? They should be allowed to use the iPhone however they like?

Deepdark: Yes, exactly.

VideoGamer: And how do games fit into this? Is Apple not offering games?

Deepdark: Nope, in this release of firmware 1.0 there are no games.

VideoGamer: So hackers have added support for homebrew games?

Deepdark: Yes. I am not working on games and homebrew but i know there are a lot of projects, hidden or public. iPhone will rock the world because it has the most advanced OS in the world.

VideoGamer: In the end do you think these projects actually make the iPhone more desirable to consumers?

Deepdark: Of course. We are making the product more useful. Imagine a world without hackers. You won’t live in that world.

VideoGamer: So are manufacturers always one step behind hackers?

Deepdark: No, I don’t think like that. They are releasing a product which they say is secure. After some time that product is hacked by some hacker and they learn where they made a mistake. They then release a patch. We help them make more secure products. It’s the same across all the various technology industries, Video Games in particular.

VideoGamer: Thanks for your time.

Update:
Warning: It was recently found out that this hack might not be completely legal in certain areas. Also, your carrier can discover this hack on your phone and block your subscription.

You can see full instructions on how this hack was accomplished in the forums. Credit for the hack goes to the amazing team at hackint0sh.org and Deepdark.