Apple says its unaware of NSA iPhone backdoor program

by Richard Nieva December 31, 2013 9:21 AM PST

Apple says that the company has never worked with the National Security Agency to give it backdoor access to the iPhone, responding to documents that were leaked on Monday.

The statement comes after documents shared by security researcher Jacob Appelbaum and German news magazine Der Spiegel disclosed an NSA program called DROPOUTJEEP, which is said to allow the agency to do things like intercept text messages, access contact lists, and activate the phone's microphone and camera.

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According to a slide leaked by Der Spiegel, which is dated from 2008 -- when the phone was running earlier versions of iOS -- the DROPOUTJEEP software implant can remotely push and pull files from the device, and that "all communications with the implant will be covert and encrypted." The implant described in the slide also requires physical access of a phone, but the slide also says that a remote installation capability was being pursued.

Here is the full statement, provided to CNET:


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