"Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." -- Michael Corleone 

It looks as though 19-year-old hacker extraordinaire Nicholas Allegra (Comex) has earned a ticket out his parents' house and into the "house" that Jobs built in Cupertino, California. Comex announced today via Twitter that he has been hired by Apple to be an intern.

It's been really, really fun, but it's also been a while and I've been getting bored. So, the week after next I will be starting an internship with Apple.

Comex is famous in the Apple community for jailbreaking iOS devices. Using the website JailBreakMe.com, millions of iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users have been able to easily jailbreak their devices, opening them up to run unauthorized applications (of the legal and illegal variety).

In an interview with Forbes magazine last month, Comex described his knack for finding exploits in Apple's iOS code. "It feels like editing an English paper. You just go through and look for errors. I don’t know why I seem to be so effective at it."

Having an "inside man" with regards to iOS exploits is sure to be a boon for Apple. However, that could mean that jailbreaking may become a bit harder (in the short term) as Apple uses Comex's knowledge to shore up its defenses.