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Remotely Compromising Android and iOS via a bug in Broadcom's WI-FI Chipsets

(blog.exodusintel.com)
387 points pedro84 | 1 comments | 26 Jul 17 19:51 UTC | HN request time: 0.318s | source
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thomastjeffery ◴[26 Jul 17 23:00 UTC] No.14861166[source]▶
Why does Broadcom insist on proprietary drivers?

How could it possibly be detrimental for Broadcom to have free software drivers?

This article is a poignant example that it is detrimental for them to continue to keep their drivers proprietary.

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whowouldathunk ◴[26 Jul 17 23:01 UTC] No.14861174[source]▶
The drivers are probably pretty complicated and thus valuable IP.
replies(2): >>14861236 #>>14867384 #
thomastjeffery ◴[26 Jul 17 23:15 UTC] No.14861236[source]▶
I don't buy that.

Every wifi chipset has working drivers; therefore there is little to no value in Broadcom's driver as "IP".

Contrast that to the value of having a free driver that can receive security patches from anyone at any time.

replies(6): >>14861326 #>>14861646 #>>14862004 #>>14862013 #>>14862510 #>>14863716 #
johncolanduoni ◴[26 Jul 17 23:29 UTC] No.14861326[source]▶
Every GPU has working drivers, but optimizations within them can make huge differences in performance on the same hardware.
replies(3): >>14861387 #>>14861468 #>>14861658 #
1. thomastjeffery ◴[26 Jul 17 23:40 UTC] No.14861387[source]▶
Comparing a Wifi chipset to a video card is like comparing a bicycle to a sports car.