Only having been out in the wild for a couple of days' time, the Nintendo Switch has already been hacked, and with an old exploit, no less.
At first glance, this development seems to be piling on the numerous problems the hybrid console has been facing since launch, which have addressed by none other than the Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aimé himself, though. However, it remains unclear at this point whether it poses a security risk to consumers or not.
Switch Gets Hacked So Soon
According to Wololo.net, the hacker used an old, slightly tweaked jailbreakMe iOS Webkit exploit to compromise the Switch, carrying out the breach through the console's hidden browser. He reportedly needed to only lift certain iOS code to make it work.
As for the brains behind the matter at hand, it's the hacker named qwertyoruiop, who is known for cooking up past jailbreaks of multiple iOS versions and having a hand in the PlayStation 4 version 1.76 jailbreak.
Taking things to Twitter with the handle @qwertyoruiopz, he posted a photo of the Switch with the word "done" on the screen, where the console is lying on top of a laptop that's displaying a bunch of code.
that's just how it goes pic.twitter.com/ztkFrbjz5u
— qwertyoruiop (@qwertyoruiopz) March 11, 2017
What Does The Switch Getting Hacked Mean To Consumers?
As mentioned earlier, it's still hard to tell whether or not this is an indication of a security risk to consumers, and more than that, it's unclear whether users can use this jailbreak to load pirated games on the Switch — free of charge, of course.
By extension, that also means "pirates" who are waiting for a release better not hold their breath just yet, not to mention that Nintendo is known to be pretty quick in patching up issues such as this, and considering the exploit went public, the company is doubly sure to notice it.
Any More Bad News About The Switch?
As a quick refresher, some of the notable issues surrounding the Switch include the dock scratching the screen and the Joy-Con controllers having connectivity problems. According to Nintendo of America's head honcho, the former didn't turn up in the team's experience with them. Meanwhile, the latter is still under investigation, with the team in a "fact-finding mode." However, the company did provide some tips to work around the situation.
Recap
If anything, this just goes to show that Nintendo may have hurried the launch of the Switch a bit. Still, assuming that's the case, the company can fix the gaps in development via software.
It's not exactly a deal breaker for consumers too since, after all, the console did manage to be the "strongest, most successful in years," GameStop says. On top of that, analysts expect it to reach global sales of about 8 million units by the end of the first quarter of 2018.
With all said and done, what do you think of the Switch getting hacked using an existing iOS Webkit exploit? Feel free to hit us up in the comments section below and let us know.
