New Galaxy Tab firmware bans hacks beyond iPad levels
updated 01:15 pm EST, Mon December 27, 2010
Samsung Galaxy Tab getting 'unhackable' firmware
Samsung may soon roll out a new firmware update for the Galaxy Tab that will clamp down much more tightly than Apple does for the iPad, experimenters found late Sunday. The new JM6 A, C and D builds Samsung is planning have bootloaders that are signed and prevent unauthorized firmware from running. Once the firmware is installed, any jailbreaks, roots and other custom firmware won't run, XDA-Developers members learned.
Later builds aren't as uniformly locked, but they so far all have at least some code signing that creates the same effect. Users are hopeful of a workaround in software but have been concerned that it might require soldering or other physical tricks to get the same access as they have with the current official code. HTC has a similar approach on the T-Mobile G2 that reverts to official firmware but which has been thwarted since.
It's not clear if the firmware in its current state is intended for final devices, though previous leaked builds haven't had the same restrictions.
If made official, the step could make the Android 2.2 tablet not only difficult to hack but paradoxically more restrictive than the iPad. While Apple often patches up security holes and has tighter control over what apps are allowed to run on normal firmware, iOS is relatively easy to crack in current form. Apple just recently dropped jailbreak detection code as well, although this is primarily for enterprise users and not Apple's own ends.
Google has routinely claimed that Android is more open but has also used this to let hardware manufacturers and carriers lock down the hardware themselves. Only official Google phones such as the Nexus One and Nexus S have unlocked bootloaders that let users change the firmware without needing a hack.
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Joined: May 2001
Lots of misinformation here...
" HTC has a similar approach on the T-Mobile G2 that reverts to official firmware but which has been thwarted since."
The T-Mobile G2's protection had little to do with signed firmware-- while new firmware WAS signed (and generally you want updates to be signed), the main issue with the g2 was that (1) the system did not allow root access by default, and (2) the emmc (internal memory card) was set to read-only mode upon boot. To circumvent the first part, a "fork bomb" attack was used to escalate a shell into root mode To get past the second challenge, hackers learned how to power down the emmc from the linux kernel, and then reinitialize it in read-write mode so that changes could be made to the system.
"Google has routinely claimed that Android is more open but has also used this to let hardware manufacturers and carriers lock down the hardware themselves."
It is true that Google has routinely claimed that Android is open-- This recent blogpost makes that case very clear. However, when you say Google "has used this to let hardware manufacturers.. lock down the hardware..." -- well, that's what OPEN means.. Don't make Google out to be the villains here. They are providing an open platform and it's the hardware manufacturers and carriers who are being immoral and making poor business decisions. They-- including Apple-- deserve serious pushback and vitriol from the public. To say that Google "used" openness to let carriers lock down the hardware is to misunderstand what openness is.
"Apple just recently dropped jailbreak detection code as well, "
While this article seems to suggest that Apple is totally cool with jailbreaking, I might remind everyone that Apple fought against your right to jailbreak and lost, thanks to the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Because they successfully petitioned the FCC to let us have the freedom to jailbreak our phones, Apple and other companies' cynical claims that jailbreaking constituted a violation of copyright was determined to be bogus.