Hundreds of Thousands of Iphones Hacked

This week over 225,000 iphones were hacked by a Chinese group.  However the only iphones that were hacked were ones that had been jail broken by users.  Jailbreaking an iphone allows users to install apps that don't appear on the iTunes App Store.  Jailbreaking an iphone  also bypasses some important barriers Apple puts in place to prevent cyber attacks from happening.

Users whose phones were hacked have experienced people downloading apps using their accounts.  Others who have been hacked have their phones locked with the hackers demanding a ransom in order for them to unlock the phone.

This event raises the question of whether or not to jailbreak an iphone and if this is ethical.  While users can enjoy more functionality in their phones if the choose to jailbreak their phones they are also put at additional security risks for attacks such as this one.  Jailbreaking an iphone is something that is not recommended by Apple.  A devout Apple follower could see this as users getting what they deserve for jailbreaking their phones.

Others would argue that the sheer amount of money Apple has gives them no right to complain about the way people use their products.  Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world and however much money they have lost through jailbroken iphones is easily made up in other aspects of the company.

Whichever side of the argument you are on, the people who jailbroke their iphones are facing the consequences of their decisions.  Hopefully the free apps they received were worth the loss of privacy and use of their phones, though I doubt it.