We have all probably heard of the term Jailbreaking by now, but do we actually understand it? I remember several times where people have offered to jailbreak an iPhone, which most people would assume is just gaining access to many applications that should not be attainable without cost. Some people may have different experiences based on what they have been told, however, this was a common theme, particularly in the era of the iPhone 3 and 4.
Well, that is close to what jailbreaking is, however the actual definition reads as: the modification of an electronic device to remove restrictions imposed by the manufacturer, allowing the user to install unauthorized software. This may sound like a brilliant idea, as it doesn’t seem very hard to jailbreak a phone and you can gain a lot in terms of software. However, there are many possible repercussions that arise as a result of doing this.
One of many problems with jailbreaking a phone is that it leaves your device more vulnerable to attacks. This should come as no surprise because you are removing restrictions on your phone, these restrictions also provide layers of security. Therefore, things like phishing attacks will be much easier to carry out, which could lead to identity theft, fraud and other illegal activities.
Not only does jailbreaking make your phone less protected, it has also become less useful in general compared to the “golden age” of jailbreaking, around 2009/10. This is because a lot of the features that jailbreaking a phone would earn you, are now built in to iOS systems. Also, it is becoming harder to jailbreak phones because of the many updates that are carried out. Each time there is an update, certain jailbreak features are made redundant.
As previously stated, it is quite clear that jailbreaking is not necessary and shouldn’t be encouraged. There are enough potential breaches to security without it, so increasing your chanced doesn’t seem intelligent. The best thing to do is to invest in mobile enterprise security, or any software that is a security extension of a mobile phone. It is so important to protect your sensitive data, as it is so easy to lose.
For information regarding phishing and it’s unfortunate prevalence in our society, check out this infographic from the mobile security company, Lookout.
