Yesterday, Apple"s iBoot source code leaked online. The software is a core component of iPhones, which securely boots the operating system and ensures that the kernel is digitally signed by Apple. As such, its leak has understandably caused concern among security experts and consumers alike.
However, Apple has now released a statement to address the growing unease of its customers worldwide.
In a statement to CNET, Apple explained that the leaked source code is from iOS 9 - which is over two years old - so any potential security vulnerabilities discovered in it may have already been fixed in the present day. The company said that:
Old source code from three years ago appears to have been leaked, but by design the security of our products doesn"t depend on the secrecy of our source code. There are many layers of hardware and software protections built in to our products, and we always encourage customers to update to the newest software releases to benefit from the latest protections.
What this essentially means is that only users still running iOS 9 on their iPhones are prone to security threats and there"s little chance that devices running newer versions of the operating system will be affected. That said, it"s still important to note that according to Apple"s statistics, 8% of iPhones are still running on iOS 9 or below. While this may seem a relatively small figure, do keep in mind that Apple announced that it had sold 1 billion iPhones back in 2016, which means that millions of devices are potentially at risk.
Source: CNET