iOS 9 Jailbreak: Why Zerodium Is Offering $3M To Hackers Who Can Successfully Break Into iPhones, iPads


Thinking of jailbreaking iOS 9 ? Go ahead. No one’s going to stop you. In Fact, startup firm Zerodium is willing to pay you millions just to do this. The big question now is why?

Apple's iOS 9 is said to be the most secure mobile operating system right now, so Zerodium wants to prove it by challenging hackers out there to jailbreak the new iOS and penetrate iPhones and iPads.

On Monday, Zerodium proudly announced its call for hackers to pursue Apple's iOS 9 operating system and hack into it despite its increased security. The successful hacker will bring home $1 million, Fortune has learned.

And that's not all, Zerodium has spared $3 million for this challenge, so the startup cybersecurity firm is looking for three hackers to do the job.

Zerodium and Vupen CEO Chaouki Bekrar has said that the company is willing to pay $1 million to each hacker who can jailbreak iOS 9 and demonstrate a functional and remote hack that lingers even after the device has been rebooted.

So why is Zerodium willing to pay that much just so hackers can jailbreak iOS 9? Bekrar said that the price is just right given the difficult security protections of Apple's operating system update.

"iOS is the most secure mobile OS as of today... and Zerodium is buying all kinds of stuff, why not iOS?" Bekrar told Forbes.

On its specific instructions, Zerodium indicated that the hack should be smoothly done via Apple's Safari or Google's Chrome browser or even just a text message.

The challenge the startup has announced will only run until 6 p.m. EDT of Oct. 31, but if three hackers have already successfully attacked the secure operating system before the said date, the Zerodium's challenge shall be terminated.

In case you are interested, Zerodium has also mentioned in its announcement that any hack that requires physical access to an iPhone or an iPad or via NFC, baseband or Bluetooth does not qualify as a successful hack and will not be considered worthy of the price, reported Ars Technica.

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