Facebook has reportedly hired George Hotz, the hacker best known for defeating the security measures of iPhones and PS3 consoles.

Hotz, 21, was the first to develop software that unlocked the iPhone before jailbreaking the PlayStation 3 console. Sony infamously sued Hotz over the hack, a decision that provoked the wrath of both mainstream gamers and anarcho-syndicalist prankster hackers LulzSec, among others.

According to TechUnwrapped, Hotz has accepted a job working for Facebook, possibly on a secretive iPad app. Chronic-Dev Team member Joshua Hill reportedly found out about Hotz's unexpected career move after the hacker backed out of an upcoming iPad 2 hacking challenge because of his status as an employee of the social network. ®

Related stories

• iPhone/PS3 hacker Hotz arrested in pot bust (15 March 2012)

  https://www.theregister.com/2012/03/15/hotz_sxsw_drug_arrest/

• York CompSci student pleads guilty to Facebook hack (14 December 2011)

  https://www.theregister.com/2011/12/14/facebook_hack_prosecution/

• Sony was a victim as well: Australian privacy watchdog (30 September 2011)

  https://www.theregister.com/2011/09/30/sony_cleared_by_privacy_commissioner/

• Battered Sony hires cyber-security chief (6 September 2011)

  https://www.theregister.com/2011/09/06/ex_homeland_security_exec_becomes_chief_security_officer/

• Hackers jailbreak iOS 5 in under 24 hours (7 June 2011)

  https://www.theregister.com/2011/06/07/ios_five_jailbroken/

• Security watchers unpick PlayStation hack (13 May 2011)

  https://www.theregister.com/2011/05/13/veracode_playstation_hack_analysis/

• Suit settled, PS3 hacker donates $10,000 to EFF (19 April 2011)

  https://www.theregister.com/2011/04/19/geohot_donation_to_eff/

• Sony buries hatchet with GeoHot in PS3 modding case (11 April 2011)

  https://www.theregister.com/2011/04/11/sony_geohot_settle_playstation_suit/

• PS3 jailbreak judge refuses to rescind GeoHot order (11 February 2011)

  https://www.theregister.com/2011/02/11/geohot_tro_hearing/

• Sony expands legal offensive to more PS3 hackers (8 February 2011)

  https://www.theregister.com/2011/02/08/sony_playstation_legal_offensive/

• Prolific hacker releases PlayStation exploit (27 January 2010)

  https://www.theregister.com/2010/01/27/playstation_exploit_released/

• Once impenetrable PS3 cracked wide open (25 January 2010)

  https://www.theregister.com/2010/01/25/playstation_cracked_wide_open/

• Hacker frees iPhone from Jobsian tyranny (again) (4 November 2009)

  https://www.theregister.com/2009/11/04/blacksn0w_and_blackra1n/