An anonymous user on the popular code-sharing server GitHub has posted a major component of the iOS source code for all to see, and some experts are fearing it could be “the biggest leak in history.”

As first reported by Motherboard, the leaked code has since been pulled off the site but not before countless people were surely able to get their hands on it. In a section explaining the reasons for the takedown and content type, the law firm says the notice covers "reproduction of Apple's iBoot source code, which is responsible for ensuring trusted boot operation of Apple's iOS software. The GitHub repositories containing the leaked iBoot source code have been taken down and replaced with a DMCA notice from one of Apple's law firms, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, which cites Apple's ownership. It is not open-source," said Although the source was only available for a short time, it's likely that hundreds of people viewed and downloaded the material while it was available. The portion of the code that leaked is called iBoot, and as its name suggests, it controls the trusted boot-up process that springs into action every time you start up your iPhone. Updated at 10:54 a.m. Pacific: An Apple spokesperson provided the following statement: “Old source code from three years ago appears to have been leaked, but by design the security of our products doesn’t depend on the secrecy of our source code. The disclosure of iBoot’s source code could considerably improve hackers’ chances of spotting issues, and reignite a jailbreaking scene that has all but dried up as iOS’s hardware and software security have improved.
A Vice Motherboard report traces the origin of a significant iOS source code leak to an Apple intern and five "friends" in the iOS jailbreaking community.