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How is it ethical to distribute this without first disclosing to apple and waiting for a fix at least a few days?


Simple: it is Apples problem if their servers aren't secure. You don't owe apple free work.

Delayed disclosure is a nicety, not something you are obligated to do.


So there is no ethical responsibility to protect the users who will be left vulnerable to this exploit? Remember the danger here is screwing people who have iCloud accounts. It's not like Julie the housewife in Minnesota, had any say in the security of Apple's products.


One problem is that if the exploit is given silently to the company, they often don't change any of their practices (even if they fix that particular exploit), and more exploits soon surface, and maybe this time by people who plan to abuse them instead of telling the company.

By going loud and public, you ensure that the company has to do something to save face. It can't just be forgotten on some manager's desk.

And the fact is, you, as part of the public, would only know about the times when somebody goes loud about an exploit. For all you know, there might have been hundreds upon hundreds of times when security researches have gone to the company and been outright ignored, and when one finally goes loud with what he has found, you say "He really should have done this more quietly, it would have been much more responsible"


Maybe the harm caused to a few people is worth the publicity and increased awareness.


Ethics are a nicety, not an obligation.


Not very. We don't know if they contacted Apple. However from my knowledge Apple doesn't offer bug bounty or often respond to security notifications.


"The end of fun, Apple have just patched"


It is not and it probably had consequences (celebrity nude pics leak).




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