MacBook hack finale?

The continuing saga of the mysterious MacBook hack may have finally come to a close. If you've been living under a Microsoft-branded rock for the last few months, allow me to recap: Back in early August, two hackers by the names of Jon Ellch and David Maynor from security service provider SecureWorks demonstrated a vulnerability in Apple's AirPort wireless hardware at the Black Hat conference. In a video tape, the pair demonstrated how they were able to gain control of an Apple MacBook by hacking the laptop's wireless device drivers. What followed was an internet-wide flame war, pitting skeptics against Mac zealots, the latter refusing to believe the exploit until it was demonstrated live.

Well, Maynor and Ellch were scheduled to appear at ToorCon in San Diego this past weekend, to set the record straight. However, Maynor pulled out of the conference at the last minute, citing that he was "compelled" to do so by his employer. Hackers and security experts were instead treated to a statement from SecureWorks, stating that they were working with Apple to address any security vulnerabilities and a rant from Ellch, who suggested that an agreement was reached to keep the vulnerability secret. Keeping in mind Apple's quiet security update for their Airport software less than two weeks ago, it's not hard to see this as an overall win for Apple: the exploit was not released to the public and the Mac's image as a secure platform remains (relatively) untarnished. Is this the last we'll hear of the MacBook hack?

For more on the Airport hack:
- crack Ars Technica's ToorCon report
- and the Washington Post blog post that started it all