Three researchers announced yesterday that they’ve managed to jailbreak the BlackBerry PlayBook, one of the only tablets to receive the U.S government’s top security certification. Research In Motion has replied to the claims, saying it is in contact with one of the hackers.
RIM is reassuring BlackBerry smartphone users that their devices and services will not be affected, and that for now, the jailbreak is limited to the QNX-based PlayBook. The researchers have announced that they plan to release a jailbreaking tool for the BlackBerry PlayBook by next week, something obviously not desired by the Canadian smartphone manufacturer.
Sales of the PlayBook had been exceptionally low since it was released earlier this year, despite good reviews of its performance, due to its small app ecosystem, and lack of some vital functionalities – like native e-mail. After its price drop recently however, the tablet became a more widely desired device, especially for those interested in porting or jailbreaking the device, because of its solid hardware and build quality.
RIM says it is “not aware of a jailbreak being leveraged by anyone other than the researchers.” The company said if it “determined that the claim is accurate, [it] will follow its standard response process to develop and release a software update that is designed to minimize adverse impact to our customers or carrier partners.”
Speaking about the imminent jailbreaking tool from the team of hackers, RIM said it would investigate it if it gets released, and once again reassured customers about the future security for the device: “RIM is committed to the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and to working with researchers to continue to protect our customers.”
Source: RIM Looks Into Hacking Claims