Keeping Pace With Security Needs
I understand the rationale behind Apple's approach to the iPhone firmware, and plenty of embedded device vendors handle things similarly. But it's a mechanism that can't keep pace with challenges posed by the malicious, the curious, the opportunistic, and the "helpful," all of whom probe popular device software for weaknesses and desire the fame, infamy, or profit that arises from revelation of their discoveries. It is the downside of our society's mobile evolution that the parasites and pyromaniacs adapt along with the rest of us. We can't risk giving them the upper hand, but neither should we sacrifice any portion of the promise of mobile and wireless devices and services for risk of exposure.
Apple needs to make the iPhone's critical update notification and distribution more agile so that new exploits can be foiled and identified gaps plugged, with minimal delay and disruption. My ideal, for the iPhone and other devices, would be to see focused, file-level critical updates pushed out over the air and, if no reboot is required, installed automatically. By the time the headlines hit, vendors could have the fix in the air.
It can't always be that simple, but even if just a third of device updates were shipped that way, it'd be a major step toward taking the reward out of mobile malware.
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