The new iPad looks and sounds like a cool gadget (some might say toy).  Here are some points for you to consider prior to purchasing one. (thank you to ChannelWeb)

1. Operating system quite hackable. “This was not particularly surprising, considering that the iPad’s nearest cousin, the iPhone, has been subject to a slew of jailbreak attacks since its inception. But the attack likely foreshadows a barrage of jailbreaking assaults yet to come as some adventurous iPad hobbyists and hackers attempt to open up their device to a new world of applications and software not found or approved by the Apple App Store.”
2. Popularity drives attempts to hack.  For exmaple: Symantec is the most popular anti-virus software – so it is subjected to the most attempts to fool it ( and quite a few succedd ).
3. Maleware / exploit browsing – will work even better on the iPad because you cant put software to protect yourself on it.
4. AntiVirus not an option – Apple considers themselves safe from viruses and does not allow third party development of antivirus software.  (so an open door to those who enjoy a challenge)
5. E-mail attacks – see #4.  There is already code which will create a buffer overflow and crash the system
6. Encryption – nothing really there. Hoffman, of SMobile Systems, said that from a forensics standpoint, iPad’s embedded encryption was “worthless.”
7. Firewall – doesn’t have one (see #4)
8. Image exploits – Apple recently released 88 security patches for their software, but there are still a host of vulnerabilities in software such as Quicktime (which is embedded into the iPad)

So, the iPad does not seem ready for business yet.  Give it some time and these issues will either be addressed or you will go back to the itouch for music, apps, and browsing.

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 8th, 2010 at 8:46 am and is filed under IT in the Workplace. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.