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Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

techcrunch.com

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Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#141

Post by jevinskie »

dguido wrote: post #126
willstrafach wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

not true. 64-bit kernel was previously not possible to examine. additionally: we now know what Watchtower looks like, something that was previously a mystery and even incorrectly thought to be something that ran on SEP instead of the AP.

If Stefan says it will you believe me? https://twitter.com/i0n1c/status/745922795977187329 You just used a kernel privesc that you probably already had to read it. NOT A BIG DEAL.

That gets you a kernel dump, a decrypted kernelcache gives you very handy MachO headers. And as Will said, the well known kernel dumping methods do not dump Watchtower. I'm not sure if anyone has privately been able to dump Watchtower with a kernel privsec or if it has only been possible with the kernelcache keys.

Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#142

Post by st3v3r »

LoSboccacc wrote: post #82
smnscu wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, how gullible you are. It's obviously Apple and FBI are actually best buddies and this was just a PR move to sell more iPhones. Wake up, sheeple. /s Seriously, the cynicism in this thread is deplorable even for HN standards.

Eh you know right that TC was more thaneager to comply if FBI had issued the request privately? All the thing was a PR show from both sides.

No.

Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#143

Post by snowwrestler »

piyush_soni wrote: post #61
nostromo wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When they took on the FBI I decided that it was more than just vacuous PR. A PR person would bristle at the idea of denying to unlock the phone of a terrorist. It took real cojones for Apple to stand up for privacy at such a time.

I supported Apple's stand against the FBI, but believing it's purely altruistic would be simplistic and optimistic thinking at best. When safety and security are your perceived selling point, it's the best PR you can have. I'm not entirely sure about the validity of this nytimes article [1], but if we believe it, Tim Cook had asked FBI to submit their request 'in private' - but FBI did it openly, so Tim Cook 'had to'…

In general I object to the line of thinking that good things are only good if done for purely altruistic motive. I'm not sure if that's exactly your line of thinking, but your comment seemed to me like it was in that direction.

One of the reasons capitalism works is that it converts customer wishes into tangible economic benefits for a company. If Tim Cook had PR as 50% of his reason for taking on the FBI--wouldn't that still great?

It was good that he took on the FBI. And it if he was responding to his customers' wishes, isn't that good too? So why would combining those be somehow bad?

Sure, Apple is undoubtedly aware of how privacy is a marketing advantage. But since we like privacy, let's not find convoluted ways to dislike Apple for trying to please us.

Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#144

Post by hackuser »

mcphage wrote: post #137
thaumasiotes wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just saying, I don't think food subsidies look "quite odd" to Americans, I think they look fairly normal.

It's very unusual outside of Silicon Valley.

I don't think so - plenty of employers offer free cafeterias, and provide dinner to people working late or weekends.

Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#145

Post by LeoPanthera »

Kristine1975 wrote: post #60
LeoPanthera wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then why does Apple avoid paying taxes? Because they're a publicly traded company who act in the best financial interests of their shareholders. They're not breaking any laws. They're playing the game by following the rules as best they can while maximizing their profits. Any for-profit company that does not do so is suicidal. If you think what they do is wrong - campaign to fix the laws they are following.

So they are not altruistic. That was all I was saying with my rhetorical question.

Being profit-seeking and altruistic to their users are not mutually exclusive.

Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#146

Post by alsetmusic »

mikeash wrote: post #125
alsetmusic wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Certain teams at Apple get free dinners to boost morale when working late. This included a pretty nice catered meal once a week in my department. No doubt, this is common at industry leaders.

That's not so much a perk as it is very cheap overtime pay. It would be a perk if they gave you dinner even when you leave at 5PM.

There was nothing stopping us from eating and going home. It's not as though someone was keeping watch over us and demanding work for food. I always felt respected and appreciated.

Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#147

Post by evgen »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #74
evgen wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A company that Facebook acquired a couple of years ago (PrivateCore) realized that the L1 cache had grown large enough that you could run a hypervisor out of it. You use a TPM secure boot chain to ensure you are booting the code you need into the hardware you expect, load up the hypervisor and its keys, and then this hypervisor is used to encrypt _everything_. Now you have encrypted RAM, so physical possession of a r…

L1 had grown large enough? What do you mean? L1 was 32KB in the Pentium II days, and for the last ten years of Intel chips it's been an unchanging 64KB. Why would it have to fit into L1 specifically, rather than L2/L3? (If you do use L2/L3, that's also been big enough to spare the space for a hypervisor since the Pentium II, which had 512KB.)

Typo on my part, it was L3.

Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#148

Post by mikeash »

alsetmusic wrote: post #146
mikeash wrote: post #125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not so much a perk as it is very cheap overtime pay. It would be a perk if they gave you dinner even when you leave at 5PM.

There was nothing stopping us from eating and going home. It's not as though someone was keeping watch over us and demanding work for food. I always felt respected and appreciated.

Did people who left on time still get bonuses and promotions. Would they have continued to provide food if everyone was out the door at 5PM?

Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#149

Post by amscanne »

Analemma_ wrote: post #127
distances wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In many European countries it would probably be considered a taxable benefit for the employee, and would increase the employee taxes. Just as a background why some things are different across the pond.

It's a taxable benefit in the US too, I'm not sure where the parent's "tax writeoff" comment is coming from. Google actually got in some trouble recently for not reporting their free food to the IRS.

Presumably he means that it's a cost, therefore paid with pre-tax dollars.

Re: Apple confirms iOS kernel code left unencrypted intentionally

#150

Post by NEDM64 »

Kristine1975 wrote: post #46
headShrinker wrote: post #26

A move like this fits with a more general ideology Apple has been advocating for the last three years. Privacy, security, and ultruism. Tim Cook has put is mark on the company. One of the first things he did was apologize, (for maps) something unheard of in Apple's culture. I haven't drank the cool-aid and Apple has a lot of issues. I do see they however are making attempts at differentiating from the general corpora…

>altruism Then why does Apple avoid paying taxes? Let's not kid ourselves: Apple is a company, and companies are only "altruistic" if they expect that it will help their bottom line.

Because there's no reason to do that.

They need and are investing in other countries besides USA. Their mapping sucks completely in Europe.

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