Apple Denies Helping NSA Subvert iPhone

New submitter aissixtir sends word that Apple has responded to allegations that the NSA has backdoor access to iPhones. Apple said, "Apple has never worked with the NSA to create a backdoor in any of our products, including iPhone. Additionally, we have been unaware of this alleged NSA program targeting our products. ... Whenever we hear about attempts to undermine Apple’s industry-leading security, we thoroughly investigate and take appropriate steps to protect our customers. We will continue to use our resources to stay ahead of malicious hackers and defend our customers from security attacks, regardless of who’s behind them."

Comments

Re:They can't stop unlockers

[MacDork]

I hate how this story has warped into an Apple bash. Go watch the original presentation.

Jacob Applebaum detailed the latest revelations on the NSA at 30c3 wherein he describes software to launch automated malware attacks "designed for at scale explotation" which is being used for "fishing expeditions, it's more like fishing crusades ... targeting Muslims." He describes NSA drones being used to wirelessly compromise wifi routers from a distance of 8 miles. Also mentioned, the NSA is shipping compromised American hardware ordered online including iPhones, Dell PowerEdge servers, HP servers, Solaris servers, and more. He wraps up the talk mentioning "a specialized technology for beaming energy into you and the computer systems around you" to compromise systems. Up to 1KW of energy specifically. It's clear from his presentation that what the NSA is doing is not just passive collection. It is not the digital equivalent of a wiretap. It is the digital equivalent of a drone firing a hellfire missle on you.

Apple is a very small aspect of this story. The NSA has militarized the internet.

From the snow leopard security config guide v10.6

[Anonymous Coward]

Page 16/272: Acknowledgments
Apple would like to thank the National Security Agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Defense Information Systems Agency for their assistance in creating and editing the client and server security configuration guides for Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

Re:What are the attack vectors

[AHuxley]

Hi JS,
Try watching a few of the new 30C3 vids to get an overview of contractor and gov visions for phone tracking.
30C3 To Protect And Infect - The militarisation of the Internet
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZYo9TPyNko
30c3 To Protect And Infect, Part 2 (at ~30 min in for the cell phone question more at 43 min for ~DROPOUTJEEP too)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0w36GAyZIA
30C3 Backdoors, Government Hacking and The Next Crypto Wars
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLT7ao1V8vY

Re:Gag Order

[bill_mcgonigle]

How is that plausible? There's no legal mechanism to do that.

Joseph Nacchio. If you don't cooperate with the NSA, the SEC finds something to put you in prison for.

That's the whole point of Three Felonies A Day.

Re:They can't stop unlockers

[mjwx]

Of course there's an inherent bias there, in that the most desirable prize is for cracking the Apple product.

Actually it isn't.

The higher cash prizes were for the non-Apple products.

Re:Ok then, WHY was local sync removed from OS X ?

[thechink]

Complete and utter BS.

I always local sync and backup my iOS devices via USB with OS X and continue to do so in Mavericks.