NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] "Uncrackable" G2 Android Phone Successfully and Permanently Rooted -- and Why This Matters!
"Uncrackable" G2 Android Phone Successfully and
Permanently Rooted -- and Why This Matters!
http://lauren.vortex.com/archive/000778.html
Greetings. Almost exactly a month ago, in "New Android Phone
(Falsely) Accused of Containing a 'Malicious Root Kit'"
( http://bit.ly/alTj4v [Lauren's Blog] ) -- I noted the situation with
the new T-Mobile G2 Android phone (aka HTC Vision), where a new
protection scheme had been employed by the manufacturer to (try)
prevent "rooting" (also known as "jailbreaking"). I also expressed my
hope that "permanent rooting" efforts in progress would be successful.
As I discussed, I view having complete control over my cell phones as
being important for privacy and security reasons -- and in terms of
overall user freedoms as well. A "locked-down" device cannot be
relied upon to run the systems and applications of users' choosing.
And while there are certainly those persons who disagree with me on
this point, I consider these freedoms to be extremely important in an
age of ever increasing and widely distributed technologies.
So I'm very pleased to report that as of this morning, the G2 has been
successfully and permanently rooted ( http://bit.ly/bzUQVM
[xda-developers] ), opening the door to specialized applications and
the running of the excellent "CyanogenMod" enhanced systems
( http://www.cyanogenmod.com ). Incredible work guys!
As it turns out, it was quickly established that the G2 was not using
a firmware rewrite system, but rather was employing the protected mode
of JEDEC Embedded MMC memory (eMMC). Temporary rooting of the device
was possible from early on since the underlying Linux kernel was
caching changes related to user root attempts, but the eMMC protection
mechanism was preventing those changes from ever being successfully
written to flash system memory -- so all such changes were lost at the
next boot of the phone.
For the last month I've been lurking on various Web sites and a key
IRC channel, watching a core group of dedicated hackers (and I'm using
"hackers" in the original, positive sense of the word), as they
gradually teased their way into the phone's systems -- truly a joy to
watch. One individual in particular, with a "handle" that would be
recognized by any fan of the original "Star Trek" series, deserves
special commendation indeed.
The level of technical expertise exhibited by this group is
extraordinary. And no matter how much you think you know about these
systems, it's definitely a learning experience to view these
reverse-engineering efforts in progress. (By the way, did you know
that many modern cell phones' radio modems can be controlled via a
superset of the ancient -- more than 30 years old! -- Hayes modem "AT"
command set? Yep. True innovation can live a long life indeed!)
It seems likely that this same basic rooting technique will be
useful -- at least for now -- when dealing with some other new HTC Android
phones hitting the streets.
I'm not suggesting that everyone needs to root their cell phones.
There are operational risks in doing so -- such as the possibility of
"bricking" your phone (making it nonoperational) if you screw up. Nor
does everyone need the ability to run the sorts of applications and
systems that require rooting.
That being said, I do consider having the *choice* of running
such software to be an important one, and the concept of devices that
lock out user choice is frankly offensive to me.
The conflicting world views represented by various flavors of closed
systems -- vs. open systems -- will certainly trigger continuing
struggles, not just in the mobile device world, but in technology
generally as we move toward ever more complex and "cloud-aware"
systems.
But to distill this all down to a simple sound bite, as far as
consumers of technology are concerned:
"Open Wins."
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com)
http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800
Co-Founder, PFIR (People For Internet Responsibility): http://www.pfir.org
Founder, NNSquad (Network Neutrality Squad): http://www.nnsquad.org
Founder, GCTIP (Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance):
http://www.gctip.org
Founder, PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member, ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Google Buzz: http://bit.ly/lauren-buzz