Apple loses lawsuit against security company that virtualizes iOS

Apple has partly lost its lawsuit against Corellium. The tech giant took it on because Corellium offers iOS emulation for security research, among other things. Apple considered that an infringement of its copyright, but the judge did not agree.

Corellium offers security researchers a virtualized iOS environment in the browser, with special pen testing software included. This allows researchers to search for vulnerabilities in the security of that hardware and software more efficiently than with a physical iPhone, for example by quickly switching iOS versions.

Apple claims that this infringes its copyrights, but Corellium and the judge see it differently: the product of the start-up is not a competitor for Apple, but a tool that actually benefits Apple’s products. That writes The Washington Post.

Apple also stated that it would be dangerous if the Corellium tools fall into the wrong hands and that Corellium provides its software to customers without any verification process. The company denied that and the judge also agreed.

The federal judge agrees with Apple on a DMCA claim. Corellium has bypassed Apple’s layers of security that prevent the creation of Corellium’s software, in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which prohibits bypassing DRM.

Apple intended to acquire Corellium in 2018, according to court documents. When talks about this came to nothing, the iPhone manufacturer went to the lawsuit. Since July, Apple has been handing out special iPhones to security researchers, with which they can find vulnerabilities.