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Apple denies NSA 'back-door' access to products
CUPERTINO - Apple says it was unaware of the National Security Agency's (NSA's) efforts to hack into iPhones and has never facilitated the US agency's bid to install backdoors in its products.
US security researcher Jacob Applebaum on Monday described to a security conference in Germany the NSA programme outlined in a purportedly leaked document that said it could intercept SMS messages, access contact lists, locate the whereabouts of a phone, access voice mail or activate its microphone and camera.
German magazine Der Spiegel has reported that NSA analysts refer internally to iPhone users as "zombies" who "pay for their own surveillance". It released a number of slides detailing the NSA's hacking division - known internally as the Tailored Access Operations, or TAO division.
One slide described an NSA "software implant for Apple iPhone" called DROPOUTJEEP that has all kinds of handy spy capabilities. It can also turn the iPhone into a "hot mic", using the phone's own microphone as a recording device and capture images via the iPhone's camera.
The Der Spiegel report is based on information that is over five old. The slide, dated January 2007 and last updated October 2008, claims the NSA needs close physical proximity to the iPhone to install DROPOUTJEEP.
Based on the report's timing, the NSA would have been targeting Apple's iOS5 operating system. Apple released its latest iOS7 operating system last September.
Nevertheless, privacy activists point out that the agency's capabilities have expanded, if anything, over the last five years.
"Imagine what they have now," technology adviser Christopher Soghoian at the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted.
Apple denies any involvement. It says it has "been unaware of this alleged NSA programme targeting our products" and "has never worked with the NSA to create a back door in any of our products, including iPhone".
Security researcher Graham Cluley says Mr Applebaum's presentation and the documents show a "broader range of tools the NSA apparently deploys against other technology companies and products, including Hewlett-Packard servers, Cisco firewalls, Huawei routers, and so on".
NEW YORK TIMES,
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
CUPERTINO - Apple says it was unaware of the National Security Agency's (NSA's) efforts to hack into iPhones and has never facilitated the US agency's bid to install backdoors in its products.
US security researcher Jacob Applebaum on Monday described to a security conference in Germany the NSA programme outlined in a purportedly leaked document that said it could intercept SMS messages, access contact lists, locate the whereabouts of a phone, access voice mail or activate its microphone and camera.
German magazine Der Spiegel has reported that NSA analysts refer internally to iPhone users as "zombies" who "pay for their own surveillance". It released a number of slides detailing the NSA's hacking division - known internally as the Tailored Access Operations, or TAO division.
One slide described an NSA "software implant for Apple iPhone" called DROPOUTJEEP that has all kinds of handy spy capabilities. It can also turn the iPhone into a "hot mic", using the phone's own microphone as a recording device and capture images via the iPhone's camera.
The Der Spiegel report is based on information that is over five old. The slide, dated January 2007 and last updated October 2008, claims the NSA needs close physical proximity to the iPhone to install DROPOUTJEEP.
Based on the report's timing, the NSA would have been targeting Apple's iOS5 operating system. Apple released its latest iOS7 operating system last September.
Nevertheless, privacy activists point out that the agency's capabilities have expanded, if anything, over the last five years.
"Imagine what they have now," technology adviser Christopher Soghoian at the American Civil Liberties Union tweeted.
Apple denies any involvement. It says it has "been unaware of this alleged NSA programme targeting our products" and "has never worked with the NSA to create a back door in any of our products, including iPhone".
Security researcher Graham Cluley says Mr Applebaum's presentation and the documents show a "broader range of tools the NSA apparently deploys against other technology companies and products, including Hewlett-Packard servers, Cisco firewalls, Huawei routers, and so on".
NEW YORK TIMES,
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
