Apple has apparently hired Nicholas Allegra, the teen-aged hacker behind iOS-exploit site JailbreakMe.com, which tells users how to unlock and customize the iPhone by installing software that's not Apple-approved.
Nineteen-year-old Allegra, better known by the handle "Comex," has been on leave from Brown University since 2010 and, according to a recent profile by Forbes, has also been on the hunt for an internship.
And it looks like his search may be over.
According to a tweet (below) posted on Allegra's personal feed and pointed out by MacRumors, Allegra will be joining the Apple staff as an intern this September.
So, the week after next I will be starting an internship with Apple.
comex
An Apple spokesperson was not immediately available to comment.
JailbreakMe allows users to unlock their iPhones via WiFi, a process that requires the outing iOS security flaws, which could potentially be exploited by malicious code. In July security concerns arose over Allegra's latest jailbreak, which exploited a weakness in Apple's PDF reader via Safari browser, MacRumors reported at the time. Apple quickly got to work on a patch and issued a fix within days.
Apple's not the only company embracing the skills of hackers. Facebook recently hired infamous iPhone and PlayStation jailbreaker George "Geohot" Hotz as a full-time employee.