BlackBerry PlayBook with DIngleBerry root

A team of independent developers say they’ve managed to root their BlackBerry PlayBook tablets, gaining access to escalated device privileges and accessing settings that would not otherwise be available. They plan to release a tool called DingleBerry to the public soon, which would allow anyone to root a PlayBook.

But in order to figure out how to root the tablet, the team first had to find a security hole in the PlayBook which could be exploited. BlackBerry maker Research in Motion doesn’t exactly want to leave any security problems lying around, and the company has issued a statement saying its investigating the issue.

If RIM confirms that there’s a vulnerability, the company will likely issue a security update for the tablet. That’s good news if you want to make sure no malicious hackers can convince your tablet to run code without your permission. But if you’re hoping to be able to root your own tablet you’re probably hoping the DingleBerry folks can release their tool before RIM rolls out any software update.

RIM’s statement also makes it clear that any exploits used to root the BlackBerry PlayBook will not affect BlackBerry smartphones, which run a different operating system. I don’t think that was ever in question, but given RIM’s emphasis on the enterprise market, I can see why it’s in the company’s best interest to highlight the point.

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2 replies on “RIM responds to DingleBerry root for the BlackBerry PlayBook”

  1. RIM would attract a lot more users if they were to cooperate in this.
    Not to mention a better repore.

    Viewsonic cooperated in the Gtablet root and won more customers.
    Smart business it seems.

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