Apple phones are some of the best selling in the world, despite the high prices. In fact, the iPhone 11 is the best-selling phone of 2020. Thus, the news that Apple will launch an iPhone that not everyone will be able to buy seems a strange decision. In fact, the company will develop a limited number of dedicated iPhone devices for security researchers, without so many protections that a regular iPhone has. These models are called SRD iPhone (Security Research Device) and will be used to discover new vulnerabilities in the iOS operating system and various hardware components.
The new iPhone SRDs will not have the limitations of regular models
Apple has long boasted that its mobile devices are the most secure. However, these statements were contradicted by all kinds of vulnerabilities and hacks discovered by the hacker community around iOS, as well as by all kinds of unpleasant events. Well, the company wants to avoid such situations in the future. The SRD iPhone program wants to discover many of the security issues of the phones before they reach the hands of the general public.
These devices will be offered exclusively to cybersecurity researchers and will only be used in controlled environments. Apple does not want these devices to ever go public, as it could do even more damage to security. SRD iPhone will provide root access to the iOS software shell and will be able to run impossible commands on a regular iPhone.
When one of the researchers finds a vulnerability in iOS or a third-party app using an SRD device, they must notify Apple or the app’s manufacturer. Apple is committed to resolving the issue and providing a release date for that update. What makes this deal beneficial to Apple is that until then, researchers are not allowed to publish details about these vulnerabilities.
To take possession of such an iPhone SRD, researchers must enroll in the special program and already have an Apple Developer account. Of course, he must be a well-known researcher in the field, who has found security problems in the past and be in one of the countries where this program works.