Research In Motion this week outlined its position on the practice of jailbreaking devices. RIM warns that the practice can have serious security implications that outweigh any possible benefits. As a result, it has taken the stand that this practice will void the manufacturer warranty:
To be clear, RIM recommends against installing any jailbreaking tool. Customers who use a jailbreaking tool on BlackBerry products void the manufacturer warranty and also increase the long-term risk of negatively impacting the stability and user experience of their BlackBerry products. Use of a jailbreaking tool could also amplify the impact and severity of a future security issue, making your personal data more vulnerable to theft and more difficult to protect.
Jailbreaking allows users to obtain root access on their device. This allows them to do certain things with it not originally allowed by the manufacturer. For example, a user can then install software outside of “official” channels.
The BlackBerry PlayBook is the only BlackBerry device that has been jailbroken to date. Given that it shares a similar code base as RIM’s upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, it seems likely that RIM is gearing up for more of its devices to be jailbroken in the future.
Read more: Inside BlackBerry for Business Blog