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  • Comex and Apple Part Ways
    by
    Phillip Swanson
    Published on 10-18-2012 08:40 PM
    58 Comments Comments


    Apple fired Comex, creator of JailbreakMe, for not responding to an email. Seriously.

    The young hacker, and former Apple intern announced via Twitter today he parted ways with Apple after nearly a year as an intern with the company. Forbes followed up with Comex (Nicholas Allegra) and discovered Apple had offered him continued employment at the company as a remote intern.

    “He explained that the email he forgot to answer was an offer to continue his employment at Apple as a remote intern. At Apple, apparently, offer letters are taken rather seriously, and Allegra soon learned that his had been rescinded. "I wasn't too happy about it, but it didn't seem like I was able to fix it," he says. "So that's what it is."

    Comex didn't comment on what he worked on during his two internships at Apple last fall and this past summer, and hinted to Forbes that there was more to his leaving Apple than a missed email. However, his email to Forbes claimed “it wasn’t a bad ending.”

    The split does seem unfortunate for Apple considering the high-praise Comex garnered from those in the security industry and within Apple’s own ranks. Unfortunately for the Jailbreak community it doesn’t appear Comex will return to iOS jailbreaking (JailbreakMe 4 anyone?) as Allegra claims he’s returning to Brown to finish his studies.

    The conditions of Comex’s employment at Apple likely prevents him from any future Jailbreak work. On Apple anyways. A cryptic Tweet sent out by Comex reads “I hear the Wii U is coming out in a month.”

    Watch out Nintendo.

    Source: Forbes
    This article was originally published in forum thread: Comex and Apple Part Ways started by Phillip Swanson View original post
    Categories:
    1. iPhone,
    2. iPad,
    3. iOS,
    4. Apple,
    5. Mac,
    6. iPad
    Comments 58 Comments
    1. Kaisei's Avatar
      Kaisei - 10-19-2012, 02:49 AM
      I initially thought I was looking at a picture of Harry Potter
    1. Venom1234's Avatar
      Venom1234 - 10-19-2012, 05:01 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by cloudxvii View Post
      What are you, his mom?
      You seem to talk like you know exactly what's going on.

      Remember to tuck him in tonight.
      I lol'd
    1. Dainelli's Avatar
      Dainelli - 10-19-2012, 06:07 AM
      Wouldn't be too surprising if Comex worked on actually making iOS 6 much more secure from jailbreaks. He wouldn't want to admit that to the public because it would make him look bad to the jb community, but imo iOS 6 seems really really really safe from jailbreaks.

      Might be partly thanks to Comex?
    1. hudss's Avatar
      hudss - 10-19-2012, 06:13 AM
      Looks like he forgot his eyebrow waxing appointment too...
    1. Mrteacup's Avatar
      Mrteacup - 10-19-2012, 07:09 AM
      I'm pretty sure comex can't start helping the jb community until iOS 7 is out because of the fact he's worked for apple. He can't legally release info about what he's done with a company unless the company allows him too. Therefore telling people the exploits would be illegal and lead to courts
    1. oneduality's Avatar
      oneduality - 10-19-2012, 07:38 AM
      I say he should just create an alias and continue jailbreaking.. While I appreciate all of the respect to legalities that the dev team has.. part of me does wish for an anonymous hacker to just continue on jailbreaking devices in any way possible.. nobody is forcing you to download and use it =) .. not saying I would use it .. *cough* .. but it would be nice to have the option.

      It sure is frustrating to hear posts from dev members saying they have a jailbreak but can't release it because of this or that..

      Quote Originally Posted by slangg_ View Post
      Are you guys that slow ?!

      Comex had an Internship with Apple, not a Million Dollar Contract !!

      Do you think Comex is Intelligent enough to crack a smartphone but Dumb enough to Sign an Internship Contract that would prevent him to Jailbreak an Apple device During and After his Internship with Apple ?! Do you really think that ?!?! Maybe that's what YOU would do! Comex ain't stupid or dumb.

      Comex Contractual Agreement ceased when Apple terminated their Contract (yes it was done with both parts).

      For all we know, Comex is already Jailbreaking iPhones ... You really think he would sign something that would prevent him Jailbreaking an Apple device for 2, 3, 5 or 10 years AFTER leaving Apple ?! Man smarten up a little bit!

      "Apple played Comex" well both of them played themselves or you really think he was there clocking his hours and doing assignments and **** ?! Comex now knows A LOT about Apple than any of us do and will use this to His (and ours) Advantage soon .........
      You have no inside knowledge... so stop pretending you do.

      Apple is also not stupid.. even small companies are known to have strict agreements.. Apple isn't small, isn't stupid and surely thought things out before hiring a notorious jailbreaker like Comex.

      All we can say is we don't know... if he signed an agreement not to jailbreak devices for x many years after leaving, it would still be binding after he got fired... I only recently am allowed to write code for e-commerce projects 5 years after leaving my previous employer.

      Quote Originally Posted by Mrteacup View Post
      I'm pretty sure comex can't start helping the jb community until iOS 7 is out because of the fact he's worked for apple. He can't legally release info about what he's done with a company unless the company allows him too. Therefore telling people the exploits would be illegal and lead to courts
      If he has such an agreement, it's probably set by a number of years rather than versions.. Apple knows they will probably put out iOS 7 in a year so it makes more sense to have him sign an agreement to to stay out of it for several years instead if you ask me... I know that's what I would do ..
    1. dannyrocket's Avatar
      dannyrocket - 10-19-2012, 07:51 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by slangg_ View Post
      Are you guys that slow ?!

      Comex had an Internship with Apple, not a Million Dollar Contract !!

      Do you think Comex is Intelligent enough to crack a smartphone but Dumb enough to Sign an Internship Contract that would prevent him to Jailbreak an Apple device During and After his Internship with Apple ?! Do you really think that ?!?! Maybe that's what YOU would do! Comex ain't stupid or dumb.

      Comex Contractual Agreement ceased when Apple terminated their Contract (yes it was done with both parts).

      For all we know, Comex is already Jailbreaking iPhones ... You really think he would sign something that would prevent him Jailbreaking an Apple device for 2, 3, 5 or 10 years AFTER leaving Apple ?! Man smarten up a little bit!

      "Apple played Comex" well both of them played themselves or you really think he was there clocking his hours and doing assignments and **** ?! Comex now knows A LOT about Apple than any of us do and will use this to His (and ours) Advantage soon .........
      Really? In the business world, it's very common to have stipulations
      Forbidden you from certain things pertaining to your job for sometimes years after leaving a company.
      Lawyers,sales people just to name a couple. I assume Apple of also having certain stipulations that forbid Comex from leaking io6 exploits to the public?!?!
    1. wukillabee's Avatar
      wukillabee - 10-19-2012, 10:23 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Dainelli View Post
      Wouldn't be too surprising if Comex worked on actually making iOS 6 much more secure from jailbreaks. He wouldn't want to admit that to the public because it would make him look bad to the jb community, but imo iOS 6 seems really really really safe from jailbreaks.

      Might be partly thanks to Comex?
      Well then if Comex still had any ounce of respect to jailbreaking and if he won't be involved anymore, least he can do is send an email to the few actually working on an Ios6/iphone 5 jailbreak and say, "Here guys, here's the exploits and what i did to make it so hard to jailbreak. This is how you get around it, have fun."

      Wishful thinking, i know. Oh iphone 5, how long will you sit on that ATT shelf until a jailbreak comes out and i can then fall in love purchasing you. If jailbreak ever becomes impossible (which i don't see possible with the market value) then i believe iphone sales will dramatically drop. I could never own and be happy using a stock Ios iphone, never. 5 phones later and now ios 6 and the most customizing you can do is have a custom background image on your home screen, WOW APPLE.
    1. szr's Avatar
      szr - 10-19-2012, 10:24 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by Phillip Swanson View Post
      The conditions of Comex’s employment at Apple likely prevents him from any future Jailbreak work. On Apple anyways.
      Quote Originally Posted by unison999 View Post
      Comex should have known when Apple hired him and add condition to stop him from jailbreaking, he should read closer and adjust the condition to employment. Then he would know to add a condition that he will stop jailbreaking as long as he is in Apple's employment, but will be free to jailbreak once he leaves.
      1) He should no longer be bound to any such terms after the termination of his employment. NDA's only apply to work internal to the company in question, no what an employee works on when no longer employed there. Apple simply would have no legal right to enforce such a mandate even if it was part of his employment contract, since that contract is null and void when said employment ceases to exist.

      2) Even if he was, though, there would be nothing to stop him from working on jailbreaking using another online alias if need be. Even if he continued to conduct such work under "Comex", Apple would still have a hell of a time proving -1-, that it was indeed him, and -2-, that he contributed anything and wasn't just, say, observing a conversation.

      Quote Originally Posted by dannyrocket View Post
      Really? In the business world, it's very common to have stipulations
      Forbidden you from certain things pertaining to your job for sometimes years after leaving a company.
      Lawyers,sales people just to name a couple. I assume Apple of also having certain stipulations that forbid Comex from leaking io6 exploits to the public?!?!
      Just to clear this up, you're confusing separate contracts with employment contracts, the latter of which is only valid for the duration of the employment and thus becomes void at the same instant the employment does. A separate contract, typically an NDA, is another matter and is not contingent on the status of the employment, though as others have said, it is rather unlikely that Comex would place himself in such a situation.
    1. spazturtle's Avatar
      spazturtle - 10-19-2012, 10:51 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by dannyrocket View Post
      Really? In the business world, it's very common to have stipulations
      Forbidden you from certain things pertaining to your job for sometimes years after leaving a company.
      Lawyers,sales people just to name a couple. I assume Apple of also having certain stipulations that forbid Comex from leaking io6 exploits to the public?!?!
      He was only an intern you have to be an employee for those contracts to work.
    1. The6uest's Avatar
      The6uest - 10-19-2012, 11:30 AM
      Now he can go JB the iPhone 5! C'mon Comex! We like you much better on our side anyways.
    1. mmaboi21's Avatar
      mmaboi21 - 10-19-2012, 11:44 AM
      Quote Originally Posted by slangg_ View Post
      Are you guys that slow ?!

      Comex had an Internship with Apple, not a Million Dollar Contract !!

      Do you think Comex is Intelligent enough to crack a smartphone but Dumb enough to Sign an Internship Contract that would prevent him to Jailbreak an Apple device During and After his Internship with Apple ?! Do you really think that ?!?! Maybe that's what YOU would do! Comex ain't stupid or dumb.

      Comex Contractual Agreement ceased when Apple terminated their Contract (yes it was done with both parts).

      For all we know, Comex is already Jailbreaking iPhones ... You really think he would sign something that would prevent him Jailbreaking an Apple device for 2, 3, 5 or 10 years AFTER leaving Apple ?! Man smarten up a little bit!

      "Apple played Comex" well both of them played themselves or you really think he was there clocking his hours and doing assignments and **** ?! Comex now knows A LOT about Apple than any of us do and will use this to His (and ours) Advantage soon .........



      Apple doesn't give out info to employees how you would expect. They know just as much as the public knows(except retail).
      Regardless it doesn't matter what comex can and can't do...im sure he's going to do whatever he wants anyway. You don't just NOT reply to an email for no reason..
    1. mlee19841's Avatar
      mlee19841 - 10-19-2012, 12:03 PM
      Wow. That blows. Off topic it would be nice to have the jailbreak me site back.
    1. The6uest's Avatar
      The6uest - 10-19-2012, 02:29 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by mlee19841 View Post
      Wow. That blows. Off topic it would be nice to have the jailbreak me site back.
      Indeed! One for the iPhone 5 would be much appreciated right about now. I'd be happy to donate if the Dream Team would get back together and get a new JB out. Normally we hear at least something about someone working on a JB by now but there hasn't been a thing that I know of!
    1. unison999's Avatar
      unison999 - 10-19-2012, 02:30 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by szr View Post
      1) He should no longer be bound to any such terms after the termination of his employment. NDA's only apply to work internal to the company in question, no what an employee works on when no longer employed there. Apple simply would have no legal right to enforce such a mandate even if it was part of his employment contract, since that contract is null and void when said employment ceases to exist..
      It is a common practice for large corporation to include clauses into contract and it stays in effect even after termination, you mostly see non-compete clause. I am sure with all the lawyers employed by Apple they can work something out.
    1. szr's Avatar
      szr - 10-19-2012, 02:37 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by mmaboi21 View Post
      You don't just NOT reply to an email for no reason..
      While I agree, I am surprised if this was the only method of contact used, as email delivery cannot be taken for granted, no matter now reliable it is now. Business related matters should at the very least have a fallback method or two (such as phone or conventional mail.)
    1. kyphur's Avatar
      kyphur - 10-19-2012, 03:00 PM
      In IT NDAs are commonplace. I just left a company after 15 years, there is no "Non-Compete" in place but the NDA I signed years ago covers all knowledge regarding proprietary software and systems I worked on so while I can do the same thing for another company I can't use the code and such that I developed or had access to while employed there.

      I'm sure COMEX is likewise prohibited from sharing his knowledge of iOS 6/iPhone 5 if he even has such knowledge.
    1. Loko914's Avatar
      Loko914 - 10-19-2012, 03:12 PM
      Jailbreak the S*** outta that iphone 5 now! Lets go!
    1. kyphur's Avatar
      kyphur - 10-19-2012, 04:15 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by szr View Post
      While I agree, I am surprised if this was the only method of contact used, as email delivery cannot be taken for granted, no matter now reliable it is now. Business related matters should at the very least have a fallback method or two (such as phone or conventional mail.)
      On an internal corporate system receipt and even being read can be confirmed server-side...
    1. mmaboi21's Avatar
      mmaboi21 - 10-19-2012, 04:50 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by szr View Post
      While I agree, I am surprised if this was the only method of contact used, as email delivery cannot be taken for granted, no matter now reliable it is now. Business related matters should at the very least have a fallback method or two (such as phone or conventional mail.)

      True but typically the letter is the paperwork. I got a promotion and had to respond to the email/letter with "I accept" for it to be correct. My first response didn't qualify and it went like this, "Of course! I'm just happy for the opportunity".
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