Jailbreaking the iPhone is a common practice these days, so common that the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF) even came to the U.S. Copyright Office with the proposal to legalize the practice. The process, as many of you might already know, is based on modifying the iPhone so that it would run applications that haven't been approved by Apple.
In response to the jailbreaking legalizing proposal, the Cupertino, California-based Apple stated that it would enable hackers to launch denial of service attacks on cellular networks. In addition, it seems that the company also showed a few other scenarios that might turn into reality in case the EFF's proposal was approved.
The first thing that should be known about jailbreaking is that it offers access to the iPhone's baseband processor (BBP) software, which provides network connectivity and service usage. According to Apple, BBP is quite sensitive, and its modification might drive the device into being unable to connect to the network, while also influencing its GPS capabilities.
In addition, the company also stated that hackers would be thus enabled to do whatever they would like on AT&T's network. “In short, taking control of the BBP software would be much the equivalent of getting inside the firewall of a corporate computer – to potentially catastrophic result,” was what Apple said in the filing.
iPhone's Exclusive Chip Identification (ECID) might also be modified through access to the BBP software, offering hackers the possibility to avoid call charges and even enable people to make anonymous phone calls. In addition, the company also shared that hackers would be able to send oversized packets on the network, exceeding the carrier's configuration and blocking its airwaves. “The technological protection measures were designed into the iPhone precisely to prevent these kinds of pernicious activities, and if granted, the jailbreaking exemption would open the door to them,” Apple concluded.
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