Kevin Lee, a senior at George Mason University, Virginia, has turned iPhone jailbreaking into a full-time job, hacking customers devices to earn an impressive $50,000 a year. Lee uses Craigslist to advertise his services, which include unlocking, jailbreaking, and customizing devices to a user’s preference.
Lee told The Washington Post that he started off with a mere 5 to 10 customers a week – most of whom were friends. Now he pulls in between 30 and 40 – performing relatively simple hacks that many people don’t like to attempt themselves. A recent customer from the Mongolian embassy wanted his device unlocked so that he could use it in Mongolia when he moves.
Lee’s interview with The Washington Post is rather short, and he has since declined to provide further comment, removing his advert and contact details from Craigslist.
Though jailbreaking was ruled legal last year by the Library of Congress, many still fear repercussions from Apple. I’m sure the Dev-Team behind PwnageTool, RedSn0w and other jailbreak & unlock tools won’t be too happy either – in the past they have publicly shown their displeasure to others who try to make money from the tools that they provide for free.
Lee isn’t the only person to make money from this service, however. Kyle Matthews from ModMyI said in the report:
The industry just keeps increasing; there are even repair stores that will jailbreak for you.
The article is well worth a read and provides some interesting information on the jailbreaking community and the state of the industry at the moment.
[via iPhone Download Blog]
