14 DAY TRIAL // The Nintendo Switch has just been launched, but it has already been hacked.
Launched less than two weeks ago, the Nintendo Switch has already fallen victim to hackers, or, better said, to one hacker who goes by the name of qwertyoruiop. The hacker posted on Twitter an image of a Nintendo Switch device with its screen displaying his name and the word "Done."
The device sits atop a laptop, its screen full of code, indicating just what he managed to do. Reports indicate the hack was possible due to a weakness of the hidden browser Switch has. Qwertyoruiop seems to have managed a Webkit exploit, which isn't that surprising given his history.
The hacker is known for working out jailbreaks of multiple iOS versions, as well as the hack of one PlayStation version. According to him, the hack was done by tweaking an existing jailbreak iOS Webkit by removing the iOS-specific code inside.
No cause for concern
While the hack is notable, it's not cause for concern, experts say. Tyler Reguly, manager of Software Development for Tripwire, says that if he had a Switch, this wouldn't concern him or impact his usage of the device.
"While vulnerabilities like this are great for hardware hackers and researchers that want to learn more about the inner workings of the device, they simply aren't realistic attack scenarios that present much risk to the end user when using the device as designed. We're talking about a browser exploit on a device that, while it contains a browser, is not designed for browsing. The only real risk to the end user is in cases where they are on someone else's network or DNS hijacking can occur," Reguly comments.
That being said, gamers should continue enjoying their console, use it as intended and hope that Nintendo irons out the technical issues affecting gameplay, which are a higher cause of distress for users than this particular exploit.
"While every vulnerability is concerning, given the platform and attack vector, some people will find that their light bulbs and slow cookers are introducing more risk than the Nintendo Switch," Reguly added.