Rumor: Chinese company pays $1 million to sponsor jailbreak for Apple's iOS 7

Posted:
in iPhone edited February 2014
Chinese company Taig is rumored to have paid the jailbreak development team known as "evad3rs" $1 million to install its third-party mobile application store for Chinese users.

evasi0n jailbreak


Soon after "evasi0n" --?iOS 7's first-ever untethered jailbreak --?was released, the exploit's Chinese users began reporting that Taig's third-party storefront had replaced stalwart alternative app store Cydia on their devices. Further testing confirmed that any user whose default language was set to Chinese would have the Taig store installed, while those using other languages would still receive Cydia.

Rumors quickly followed that the team had been paid for the switch, with some pegging the amount at $1 million. The evad3rs team includes noted developer pod2g, a French hacker credited with discovering some of iOS's earliest exploits.

The controversy expanded when it was discovered that Taig's storefront played host to a plethora of pirated apps and that the code of the evasi0n application itself was heavily obfuscated, making it difficult for other developers to audit.

In an open letter posted on their website, the syndicate appears to admit that they did receive compensation from Taig:
Yes, we have benefitted financially from our work, just as many others in the jailbreak community have, including tweak developers, repo owners, etc. Any jailbreak from us will always be free to the users but we believe we have a right to be compensated in an ethical way, just as any other developer.
The letter also indicates that, as part of the deal, the team received assurances that Taig's app store would not tolerate software piracy. While the team expressed in the letter that Taig was addressing the issues, pod2g later confirmed that they had stopped offering the store for installation as a result of the problems.

It is not unusual for third-party Chinese app stores to include pirated content. The substantial hosting costs are offset by even more substantial revenues from advertising --?Baidu, one of China's largest internet companies, paid nearly $2 billion for one such store earlier this year.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 71
    So does anyone know if the jailbreak includes a backdoor for hackers to exploit your phone?
  • Reply 2 of 71
    "...we believe we have a right to be compensated in an ethical way."

    Oh, the irony.
  • Reply 3 of 71
    old-wiz wrote: »
    So does anyone know if the jailbreak includes a backdoor for hackers to exploit your phone?
    That's what he said..
  • Reply 4 of 71
    I jealibroke a 5 and a 5s but most Cydia tweaks are not compatible with iOS 7 yet. Cydia community was taken by surprise by evaders.
    I guess I have to switch my phone to chinese to get the Taig store at least and ask a friend to guide me through:)
  • Reply 5 of 71
    pmzpmz Posts: 3,433member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SpamSandwich View Post



    "...we believe we have a right to be compensated in an ethical way."



    Oh, the irony.

    I fail to see the unethical nature of signing a business deal to include the Taig store instead of the Cydia store. Cydia is no more entitled to be included by default than any other app.

     

    Piracy aside, which Cydia has been just as guilty of enabling, i fail to see what is supposed to be unethical about them being paid to include one particular company's stuff.

     

    No different than Microsoft bundling some stupid software in return for payment from the vendor.

  • Reply 6 of 71
    rogifanrogifan Posts: 10,669member
    I don't get why people jailbreak. Why not just go Andorid if all this tweaking and/or control are so important?
  • Reply 7 of 71
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member

    "Not all jailbreakers are pirates, but all pirates are jailbreakers."  – Anonymous

  • Reply 8 of 71
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    rogifan wrote: »
    I don't get why people jailbreak. Why not just go Andorid if all this tweaking and/or control are so important?

    iOS jailbreakers still want to use iOS. I used to jailbreak my iPhone up until a few years ago to get features not yet offered by iOS. I didn't pirate any software, in fact I paid for apps. The most I paid was $20 for an app that would let me tether my then unlimited AT&T account. This was before Verizon was on board and that was an option.
  • Reply 9 of 71
    old-wiz wrote: »
    So does anyone know if the jailbreak includes a backdoor for hackers to exploit your phone?

    If I remember correctly the SSH password needs to be changed in order to close any backdoor access.
  • Reply 10 of 71
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    If I remember correctly the SSH password needs to be changed in order to close any backdoor access.

    Yes, but only if you enable SSH in the first place

    It's also possible that JB software could load additional services in the background that could open the device up to calling "home" periodically to send personal info of the user, and allowing backdoor access into the device, just as they added a Chinese app store providing your language is Chinese.
  • Reply 11 of 71
    rob53rob53 Posts: 3,241member
    from Apple's iPhone EULA: "You agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Services, in any manner, and You shall not exploit the Services in any unauthorized way whatsoever, including but not limited to, by trespass or burdening network capacity."

    Jailbreakers are called this for a reason, they are violating Apple's end user licensing agreement. Of course, until they get caught, they haven't broken the law. /s (Same excuse speeders use.)
  • Reply 12 of 71
    rob53 wrote: »
    from Apple's iPhone EULA: "You agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute, or create derivative works based on the Services, in any manner, and You shall not exploit the Services in any unauthorized way whatsoever, including but not limited to, by trespass or burdening network capacity."

    Jailbreakers are called this for a reason, they are violating Apple's end user licensing agreement. Of course, until they get caught, they haven't broken the law. /s (Same excuse speeders use.)

    An EULA is not the same as breaking a law. You're violating an agreement which means Apple doesn't have to service your device and could invalidate your warranty but it's still your device. I've taken my jailbroken iPhone into the Apple Store many times over the years for HW issues and not once did I have a Genius take issue with it.
  • Reply 13 of 71

    i get paid over $87 per hour working from home with 2 kids at home. I never thought I'd be able to do it but my best friend earns over 10k a month doing this and she convinced me to try. The potential with this is endless. Heres what I've been doing,......  w­w­w.J­o­b­s­8­1.C­o­m

  • Reply 14 of 71
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    I don't get why people jailbreak. Why not just go Andorid if all this tweaking and/or control are so important?

    The thing is most of us want to use apple products but, want a few tweaks to go with it... I jailbreak mainly for activator, call bar, lock info and gridlock... :) And no Android is not an answer... If you buy a Ferrari an customize it a bit doesn't mean you should just go and buy a Chevrolet... :p :p

  • Reply 15 of 71
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    I don't get why people jailbreak. Why not just go Andorid if all this tweaking and/or control are so important?

    It’s all about inflated egos. It’s all about being told you can’t do something so, by god, you’re going to do it anyway just to show how self-important you are. It’s all about showing off in front of people to make them think you are better than they are. 

     

    Having said that both of my sons jailbroke their iPhones just to see if they could do it. Neither saw any value or advantage to it and returned their iPhones to normal status. I think that’s the rule, not the exception.

  • Reply 16 of 71

    If I pay $600 or more for my iPhone 5s I should be using it the way I want. When you buy a new car the manufacturer doesn't restrict you by forcing you to drive it only on certain roads. I want to be able to make frenchfries with my iPhone if I want.

    Some of the functions that were added in iOS 7 recently I have been using thanks to the jailbreak community since 2008! 

  • Reply 17 of 71
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by lkrupp View Post

     
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Rogifan View Post



    I don't get why people jailbreak. Why not just go Andorid if all this tweaking and/or control are so important?

    It’s all about inflated egos. It’s all about being told you can’t do something so, by god, you’re going to do it anyway just to show how self-important you are. It’s all about showing off in front of people to make them think you are better than they are. 

     

    Having said that both of my sons jailbroke their iPhones just to see if they could do it. Neither saw any value or advantage to it and returned their iPhones to normal status. I think that’s the rule, not the exception.


     

     

    lol... Love your "in a shell" thinking... Oh and your kids are an exception and not the rule... You should maybe get out more... :)

  • Reply 18 of 71
    "We have the right to be compensated in an ethical way" begs the question of how ethical can it be if your exploit allows others to benefit financially from stolen (pirated) software.
  • Reply 19 of 71
    pmz wrote: »
    I fail to see the unethical nature of signing a business deal to include the Taig store instead of the Cydia store. Cydia is no more entitled to be included by default than any other app.

    Piracy aside, which Cydia has been just as guilty of enabling, i fail to see what is supposed to be unethical about them being paid to include one particular company's stuff.

    No different than Microsoft bundling some stupid software in return for payment from the vendor.

    "Piracy aside"? That's the whole point, not an aside.
  • Reply 20 of 71
    "Piracy aside"? That's the whole point, not an aside.

    The point of Cydia (and jailbreaking) is not piracy.
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