Apple hands over a special iPhone to the first participant of the company's Safety Research Equipment Program.
In July, Apple launched a brand new project called Apple Security Research Device Program. The program's objective is to present select participant-researchers with a specially-configured iPhones loaded with distinctive code execution, as well as containment insurance policies, that will help researchers analyze its safety in terms of digital security. Today, reports indicate that the first participant of that program received the special iPhone for use in the research.
Aside from the first participant of Apple's Safety Research Device Program who already received the special iPhone, the Cupertino-based tech giant also informed its large pool of participants as to who among them should expect to receive the special iPhones starting this day. Apple stated that as soon as the participants are informed, they would immediately send out the special devices. Under the terms of the new program, participating security analysts would have special iPhones, which will be on loan for a year. The terms and conditions that the participants signed mention the possibility of extending the loan period.
With Apple's Security Research Device Program, the company hopes to enhance further the security of its iOS. With the first participant receiving the special iPhone, the program is well on its way to a good start. The Cupertino tech giant believes that the contributions of these security participant-researchers are vital to discovering any flaws and possible vulnerabilities that hackers may use to infiltrate the device. The company also stated that in working to achieve its objective of increasing safety for its consumers, future iPhones would become impervious to hacking attacks that some of its iOS versions experienced recently.
Apple said that its Security Research Device Program shows how the company value inputs from collaborating independent researchers. The company also expressed appreciation for all the work that the researchers do on various Apple platforms. Very recently, Apple announced that the first participant received the special iPhone for research, adding that other researchers will be receiving theirs soon. According to the Cupertino tech giant, the iPhones they are giving to the researchers are less-locked down compared to consumer devices. This will make it easier for participant-researchers to pinpoint serious security flaws and vulnerabilities.
Apple also revealed that they made the devices as close as possible to production phones with the most recent version of iOS and modern hardware. The company also revealed that the first participant of the Security Research Device Program who recently received the special iPhone need not jailbreak the device to do research. This allows the participant-researcher to examine the security features of the platform and run any tools they want in testing the OS.
