Last month we reported that Apple had surprised mobile security experts by making it easier to inspect the workings of a key piece of its mobile operating system in a preview release of a new version launching this fall. The change is seen as likely to lead to more security bugs getting found—and fixed —in Apple’s code.
Today Apple underscored its new policy in a second beta release of iOS 10. The first beta departed from past releases in leaving the kernel, which controls what applications on a device can do, available for all to see. Experts on iOS security report that the new beta leaves many other components unobscured, too.
Security researcher Mathew Solnik tells MIT Technology Review that represents a “huge change from past policies.” He and others say that the encryption Apple previously used to obscure iOS components increased the work required for anyone who wanted to inspect the workings of the company’s code. Removing it could mean more people will take a look, and hence that more bugs are discovered and reported to Apple.
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