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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: 0s | 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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Scramblejams ◴[27 Jul 17 00:02 UTC] No.14861519[source]▶
One theory I've seen bandied about related to GPU drivers is that it's harder for your competitors to notice you're infringing on their patents if you don't ship your source code.
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tedunangst ◴[27 Jul 17 00:58 UTC] No.14861779[source]▶
This seems unlikely. (Or maybe that's the reason given, but it seems implausible to be true.) Competitors have more than enough know how to determine if you're infringing a patent, source or no source.
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1. londons_explore ◴[27 Jul 17 08:58 UTC] No.14863651[source]▶
But they need evidence.

Reverse engineering silicon to figure out if you used a specific type of patented algorithm is super hard.

Looking at open source code is waaaay easier.