Apple

Apple has confirmed that part of the source code of its operating system.

Mobile iOS has been leaked online.

Copyright imageAFP

Apple has confirmed that some of the source code for its iOS mobile operating system has been leaked online.

The startup source code used in its previous iOS 9 operating platform was published on the code-sharing website Github.

Apple generally keeps most of its iOS source code private and instructs Github to remove the content.

But he said the leak did not necessarily compromise security.

In a statement, the company said the iPhone's security was not based on "the secrecy of its source code."

He said he always encouraged customers to keep up with operating system updates.

The current version of the operating system is iOS 11

According to Apple, 93% of its users use iOS 10 or higher. These devices may no longer use the leaked code.

Extraordinary

The code leak, called iBoot, was reported by news site Motherboard.

The code began with the statement, "This document is the property of Apple Inc. It is considered confidential and proprietary."

Cybersecurity expert Prof. Alan Woodward, of the University of Surrey, said it was "extraordinary" that the code had been leaked.

"The source code for a company's operating system is like the crown jewels, it's very well protected."

Security researchers and hackers are likely to study the code, to see if there are any flaws that could make unauthorized access possible, he added.

"If there's nothing wrong with the code, it doesn't matter if it's out there," he said.

"But Apple should be worried because if someone gets hold of that, what else do they have? Assuming it's genuine, it's come from inside somewhere."

In a statement, Apple said, "Old source code from three years ago appears to have been leaked, but by design, the security of our products does not depend on the secrecy of our source code.

"There are many layers of hardware and software protections built into our products, and we always encourage customers to upgrade to the latest software versions to benefit from the latest protections."