Hackers Find Crack in RIM's Security Armor, BlackBerry PlayBook Gets Rooted

From DailyTech: The BlackBerry PlayBook is veteran Canadian smartphone maker Research in Motion, Ltd.'s (TSE:RIM) first crack at a modern tablet. And with surprisingly solid hardware, access to Android's massive app catalog, and certain semi-exclusive high profile app titles (e.g. Dead Space) the PlayBook is a pretty attractive option.

Unfortunately it's just become a blemish on RIM's generally outstanding security record, if recent reports prove true. Reportedly the PlayBook has been rooted by three OS hackers, whose handles are xpvqs, neuralic, and Chris Wade. The hackers first announced their success on Twitter, then posted a video of the running exploit.

The alleged exploit used by the PlayBook hackers was dubbed "DingleBerry" -- a semi-profane slang term -- perhaps a disturbing play on the nickname "CrackBerry".

According to the creators it works both with the beta preview channel build of the PlayBook's QNX operating system, and for all released versions. It gives you privileged access to the core operating system files. And it persists between updates.

There is some interest in using the root to perform a full-fledged port of Android to the PlayBook, perhaps in a dual-boot configuration with QNX to retain access to the core BlackBerry services.

RIM told Reuters that they are investigating the rooting incident and will issue a patch if indeed the vulnerability is real.

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