Secret Apple iOS code turns up online in major leak

A new iPhone X is displayed at an Apple store in Tokyo, Japan, on November 3, 2017. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI

Feb. 8 (UPI) — Secret Apple programming code that powers up the proprietary software on iPhones was leaked online Thursday — a breach that could lead to hackers uncovering additional vulnerabilities.

The code was initially leaked on GitHub, a site for software developers to share and develop new codes.

Apple requested GitHub to remove the code, and in doing so confirmed that the code was authentic.

“The ‘iBoot’ source code is proprietary and it includes Apple’s copyright notice. It is not open-source,” Apple said.

The code allows all iPhones and iOS devices, including iPads, to turn on. It’s the first process that runs when the devices are switched on.

“This is the biggest leak in history,” Jonathan Levin, the author of a series of books on iOS and Mac OSX internals, told Motherboard, which first reported the leak. “It’s a huge deal.”

Access to the code could give hackers an easier time finding flaws and bugs that could let them crack or decrypt an Apple device, Levin said.

It wasn’t immediately clear who leaked the code.

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