A member of the iPhone DevTeam — you may know them from a little thing like Pwnage and the new QuickPwn — has uncharacteristically issued a warning AGAINST unlocking the iPhone 3G. At least not with a hardware-based SIM card hack.

Are they suddenly becoming fans of handset lock-ins? Bias against hardware in favor of their own (still pending) software solution?

The coder notes that the modern 3G baseband chip has been designed around SIM-based hardware hacks, and so any attempt at them must use fake identifiers. This information is said to “leak” into cellular networks, generating errors. While a hack could in theory work under this scheme, the errors are recorded by telecom companies, and may be considered tampering in a company’s network. In countries like Germany, as a result, a person could allegedly face up to three years in prison, and in the US, it may fall under legislation designed to combat terrorism.

Yowzers! Sounds triple-panicky harsh, and the hyperbole alarms would be going off, if it didn’t seem like jaywalking was a Gitmo-able offense these days.

So, is this for realz, or just a scare? Anyone still want to risk a SIM hack?

(Thanks Bad Ash for the tip!)

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iPhone DevTeam Member Warns Against iPhone 3G SIM Card Hacks