Google just released a tool to crack into your iPhone

Google released a powerful tool this morning to help security researchers hack into (and find bugs in) iOS 11.1.2. The tool's creator, security expert and ethical hacker Ian Beer, is a member of Google's Project Zero, a collective of researchers that aims to make all software secure to use. Beer first announced that he was going to release the exploit on his Twitter.

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Google says Bill released the tool to "enable other security researchers to explore and test iOS' security layers without having to develop and find their own exploits. This way, as many researchers as possible can search for bugs in iOS, which they can then report to Apple so they can be remediated." The vulnerability has since been patched, although Franceschi-Bicchierai notes that Apple didn't comment publicly on the tool's release. (This means that if you're a researcher planning to turn Bill's exploit into a full-blown jailbreak, you definitely shouldn't update.)

As for why Google, one of Apple’s competitors, would want to improve the functionality of Apple devices, Franceschi-Bicchierai noted that it “actually makes a lot of sense”:

The iPhone is one of the most difficult consumer devices to hack, and researchers who are able to do it rarely find bugs or release the tools they use because they are so valuable. But the researchers at Google Project Zero don't need the money; their mission is precisely to make all software, especially software owned by other companies, more secure.

What do you think about Google releasing this hack (and Apple's subsequent patch to prevent it from being used)? Let us know in the comments.