A 19-year-old hacks an iPhone, gets hired by Apple, and ends up fired for not replying to an email

In the early 2010s, hacking stories dominated tech forums as the first generations of iPhones hit the market. One of the most notorious names was 19-year-old Nicholas Allegra, better known online as Comex.

In 2010, Allegra sent shockwaves through Apple after releasing a jailbreak for the iPhone 4. Jailbreaking allowed users to bypass Apple’s built-in restrictions and access the device’s software with no limits. Allegra exploited a vulnerability in Safari that let anyone break into the phone through the browser. Inside the hacking community, Comex quickly earned a reputation as being years ahead of iOS itself.

Apple brings hacker inside

With his name everywhere, Apple brought Allegra on as a remote intern from the JailbreakMe project. His exact responsibilities were never publicly detailed, although they involved cybersecurity work tied to the vulnerabilities he had exposed.

His time at Apple, however, lasted less than a year. The reason had nothing to do with misconduct or poor performance.

Teenager fired over an email

According to a message Allegra posted on Twitter, now X, in 2012, Apple ended his contract because he failed to respond to a key email. The message asked him to confirm whether he wanted to continue at the company after his internship ended.

Apple had quietly offered him a permanent position. Allegra simply forgot to reply. When the company received no answer, it closed his file and let him go.

A new chapter at Google

Forbes later reported that Allegra moved on to Google shortly after leaving Apple. He admitted he never actually worked on Android because he found the project less interesting than iOS.

The story echoes a more recent case from 2019, when a 22-year-old hacker bypassed iPhone security and then tried to extort Apple. According to Xataka, that hacker now holds a director-level role at a cybersecurity company.

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