“Apple just responded to newly released documents claiming that the U.S. National Security Agency has a method for gaining backdoor access to its iPhone,” Arik Hesseldahl reports for AllThingsD.It says it has never worked with the agency, and is unaware of the alleged program targeting the iPhone known as DROPOUTJEEP.”
Apple’s statement in full:
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. We care deeply about our customers’ privacy and security. Our team is continuously working to make our products even more secure, and we make it easy for customers to keep their software up to date with the latest advancements. 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.
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take:
When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty. – Thomas Jefferson
Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty. – Ronald Reagan
United States Constitution, Amendment IV:
“The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”Visit the Apple-backed reformgovernmentsurveillance.com today.
Related articles:
Ex-NSA chief calls for Obama to reject commission’s recommendations to rein in NSA surveillance – December 30, 2013
How the U.S. NSA remotely bugs your Apple iPhone – December 30, 2013
Report: U.S. NSA intercepts computers during shipping to install surveillance malware – December 30, 2013
U.S. NSA uses Google cookies to pinpoint targets for hacking – December 11, 2013
Apple, Google, others call for government surveillance reform – December 9, 2013
U.S. NSA secretly infiltrated Yahoo, Google data centers worldwide, Snowden documents say – October 30, 2013
Obama administration decides NSA spying is ‘essential,’ but oversight of NSA is not – October 8, 2013
Apple’s iPhone 5s with Touch ID seen as protection against U.S. NSA – September 16, 2013
German government: Windows 8 contains U.S. NSA snooping back doors; too dangerous to use – August 23, 2013
Report: NSA can see 75% of U.S. Web traffic, can snare emails – August 21, 2013
NSA can read email, online chats, track Web browsing without warrant, documents leaked by Edward Snowden show – July 31, 2013
Momentum builds against U.S. government surveillance – July 29, 2013
U.S. House rejects effort to curb NSA surveillance powers, 205-217 – July 24, 2013
Obama administration scrambles to shut down imminent U.S. House vote to defund NSA spying – July 24, 2013
Obama administration demands master encryption keys from firms in order to conduct electronic surveillance against Internet users – July 24, 2013
Apple, Google, dozens of others push Obama administration to disclose U.S. surveillance requests – July 19, 2013
Secret court agrees to allow Yahoo to reveal its fight against U.S. government PRISM requests – July 16, 2013
How Microsoft handed U.S. NSA, FBI, CIA access to users’ encrypted video, audio, and text communications – July 11, 2013
DuckDuckGo search engine surges 33% in wake of PRISM scandal – June 20, 2013
Yahoo: Since December 2012, we have received up to 13,000 U.S. gov’t requests for customer data – June 18, 2013
Apple: Since December 2012, we have received U.S. gov’t requests for customer data for up to 10,000 accounts – June 17, 2013
Nine companies, including Apple, tied to PRISM, Obama to be smacked with class-action lawsuit – June 12, 2013
U.S. lawmakers urge review of ‘Prism’ domestic spying, Patriot Act – June 10, 2013
PRISM: Do Apple, Google, Facebook have an ethical obligation not to spy on users? – June 8, 2013
Plausible deniability: The strange and unbelievable similarities in the Apple, Google, and Facebook PRISM denials – June 7, 2013
Google’s Larry Page on government eavesdropping: ‘We had not heard of a program called PRISM until yesterday’ – June 7, 2013
Seecrypt app lets iPhone, Android users keep voice calls, text messages away from carriers, government eyes and ears – June 7, 2013
Obama administration defends PRISM data-collection as legal anti-terrorism tool – June 7, 2013
Facebook, Google, Yahoo join Apple in sort-of denying PRISM involvement – June 7, 2013
Report: Intelligence program gives U.S. government direct access to customer data on Apple servers; Apple denies – June 6, 2013
Thanks, Apple!
Just the response I expected.
In Apple we trust.
Except we can not.
If Apple would truly care about privacy, they would allow encryption without second key stored at Apple’s servers. Sure, this would mean that you could never recover your data if you forgot your password, but this solution should exist as option anyway.
Unfortunately, neither of big companies allow that, and I suppose NSA and secret court rulings (which Apple can not even admit they exist due to gag order) might have a lot to do with that. Because without security key stored at company’s servers NSA could spend thousands of years trying to decipher data even on the best super computers.
If Apple would dare to offer no-key-storage solution, then it would be revolution on privacy matters. I would certainly choose such option, because I am sure I will not forget my password (and I get stuck in the head and will forget the password, then so be it).
There are federal regulations and restrictions on encryption that make that not possible… Check your knowledge .
However, some services do provide that type of truly protected data.
Foreign services, I mean.
And there is no deed to check my knowledge since I directly wrote that NSA has to do with this situation, they would not want this legally possible.
Since Apple is NOT a foreign company that offers foreign services what’s the point in your pointless conjecture? :
“If Apple would truly care about privacy, they would allow encryption without second key stored at Apple’s servers.”
While I believe Apple, I sure hope this doesn’t turn out later to be a case of “Truth” through omission – as in, no Apple didn’t work with the NSA but we did work with NSA contractors, or other government agencies, or quasi-government agencies – you get the idea.
Or that Apple didn’t work with the NSA to create a backdoor but we did lay out our full security approach to the NSA so that they could recommend improvements. Color us shocked that the NSA created a backdoor.
Please Apple, please do not stoop to how the U.S. Government behaves. You are much BETTER than that!!
Until proven otherwise, I do believe Apple’s intended message.
Apple has always put it’s users before everything.
And Apple has always been the champion of consumer privacy.
It seems to me that Apple is one of the few true and honest companies out there. All the Hollywood studios make immoral, disturbing trash, modern video games have no creativity, or fun, and we all know about Microsoft, and Samsung…
But Apple still has creativity and integrity. Even in these trying times, Apple just doesn’t give up. It’s like what a friend told me once: “Family and friends are a must, because they are people you can trust.”
I feel welcomed to be part of the Apple family, and all of Apple’s fanbase. They are one of the only honest corporations in the US, maybe the world…
Shouldn’t take for granted you can trust family and friends actually.
True. But you should know which family members and friends can be trusted, keeping in mind that you might be mistaken.
You can keep your iPhone privacy if you like it.
So NSA needed physical access to the iPhone to install the spyware? And this document is from 2008 when it was easy to jailbreak the iPhone. Any decent hacker worth their salt should be able to do that.
Another fake controversy created for attention and FUD.
Apple just called the NSA malicious hackers! Well done!
I liked that, too. 😉
Apple needs to run a PSA spot about how they are doing their part to help uphold the 4th amendment. To bad that they are doing so against our very own government.
Sorry for the double post but, the importance of this issue, imo, justifies it:
President Obama :
Call off your DOJ dogs now !
Apple is the exemplary US corporate citizen in every respect.
Failing to do so will lose you every ounce of respect, any of your supporters ever had for you.
The historically proven loyalty to Apple is greater than any loyalty that any president or company has ever had.
There was so much potential with Obama in power. A black guy in charge of the most powerful nation on earth. America had a chance to show just how great America was. Obama turned out to be a douche bag president like all the other douche bag presidents of the past (maybe with exception of JFK and his brother). And I am one of the millions who cried with joy when he replaced that abominable Bush. Oh and don’t tell me Reagan actually could conceive a thought such as, “Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty. – Ronald Reagan”, quoted above by MDN. Reagan was as stupid as Bush and thought Acid Rain was caused buy trees.
What does a man’s race indicate about his potential as a leader? Are you racist?
If you are going to criticize people for their intelligence please use proper grammar.
by
bī/Submit
preposition
1.
identifying the agent performing an action.
through, as a result of, because of, by dint of, by way of, via, by means of; More
after a noun denoting an action.
“further attacks by the mob”
identifying the author of a text, idea, or work of art.
“a book by Ernest Hemingway”
2.
indicating the means of achieving something.
“malaria can be controlled by attacking the parasite”
buy
bī/Submit
verb
1.
obtain in exchange for payment.
“we had to find some money to buy a house”
synonyms: purchase, acquire, obtain, get, pick up; More
antonyms: sell
pay someone to give up an ownership, interest, or share.
procure the loyalty and support of (someone) by bribery.
“here was a man who could not be bought”
be a means of obtaining (something) through exchange or payment.
“money can’t buy happiness”
get by sacrifice or great effort.
“greatness is dearly bought”
make a profession of purchasing goods for a store or firm.
2.
informal
accept the truth of.
“I am not prepared to buy the claim that the ends justify the means”
Paul, you might brush up on your scientific information. Trees do emit air pollutants, though that wasn’t mentioned as acid rain by Reagan.
You might also revise your characterization of Ronald Reagan as stupid, if you review his lifetime accomplishments. It’s one thing to disagree with another person’s policies, and quite another to denigrate the person.
Why do people say President Obama is ‘black’? He also is half ‘white’. Is there something wrong with my math? Which half is bigger?
I’d speculate that this kind of stance by Apple is what is behind the DOJ (Department of Jerks) push on the e-books issue. Hopefully Apple can continue and will continue to push back. While I believe there is a place for government, the over reaching that is occurring by NSA and DOJ is downright dangerous and wrong. I always wonder where the gun rights people are when these kind of issues occur. I guess they really believe having guns will protect them from this sort of intrusion.
>always wonder where the gun rights people are when these kind of issues occur.<
What makes you think they're not here? It is true one can't point a gun down an Ethernet cable. Maybe posting "no hack zone" signs would help?
Can’t say I’m buying this. If Apple did give a back door to the NSA, would they flat out tell everyone that they did? That would be compromising their fiduciary responsibility to their shareholders and so they have no choice but to put out a press release saying they did not grant access to the NSA. Money, as it turns out, is more important than telling the truth.
Just ask Siri, she knows.
Because Apple has not cooperated with the NSA is that why the Federal Government is making their life miserable with all this disruptive court action?
Don’t believe every press release a giant corporation, even Apple, puts out.
Don’t believe any post that a giant dumbass, especially montex, puts out.
The current lack of faith in the integrity of the government, and aparrent documentation that it is well founded, makes it possible to accuse the NSA of anything. If you get too close to the truth, they won’t deny it and they certainly aren’t saying anything when the rumors aren’t close at all. Integrity is a bit like virginity. Once you lose it, it’s pretty much impossible to get it back.
“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty. – Thomas Jefferson”
The republican people didn’t fear when the republican president created massive deficits, went to war on false pretenses, kept the wars off the books, released the name of a covert US spy to the media in retaliation and ended this term with an economy on the edge of collapse.
These same republican people then forgot about that republican president and his deeds that they ignored and proceeded to blame the new democratic president for all the sins of his predecessor.
“Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty. – Ronald Reagan”
Just ask any person not a tea party member in those states controlled by republicans (about 34) how they feel about voting laws that discriminate against dems, having to take drug tests before receiving any aid, having services and programs for children, elderly and poor cut, having fees such for tolls massively increased all the while giving tax breaks to the richest in those states.
@bjr001
You say:
“The republican people didn’t fear when the republican president created massive deficits, went to war on false pretenses, kept the wars off the books, released the name of a covert US spy to the media in retaliation and ended this term with an economy on the edge of collapse.”
EVERY budget George W. Bush submitted to Congress was declared “dead on arrival” by the Democrats who then submitted their own budgets. ALL spending must originate in the House of Representatives. Bush can only be held responsible for signing their budgets. EVERY intelligence agency in the free world agreed that Saddam Hussein’s Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction and the US Congress overwhelmingly, including every Democrat—including those such as John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, and in the re-authorization, Barack H. Obama, who conveniently forget their demands to go to war—voted to use military force by a vote of 98 to 1 (there was a vacancy). Congress funded the war by continuing spending resolutions, NOT Bush. He included it his budgets. . . remember “dead on arrival?”
The “release of the name of a covert US spy to the media in retaliation”, was later exposed to have been NONE of those things. . . and in fact, not orchestrated by the Bush administration. Facts are important. Here are the facts about that issue: The revelation was made by her OWN HUSBAND talking out of his own mouth about his upcoming autobiography, revealed by a left wing press. The agent in question was NO LONGER UNDER COVER—and in fact had not been for over five years and regularly told anecdotes to family and friends about her exploits—and was, at the time of the exposure, a mere analyst at the CIA, and all of this was admitted so UNDER OATH by the author of the original article that exposed her name! This has been proved many times over. Convictions against Scooter Libby were obtained by an over zealous prosecutor for NOT answering questions he was duty bound NOT to answer under his oath to not reveal secrets he knew. This was construed by the Democrat appointed special prosecutor as “lying” to Federal Investigators.
Further, we conservatives were appalled by Bush signing on to the bailouts of General Motors, Chrysler, large insurance companies, and the first run of Quantitative Easing. We were shocked at RINO Bush’s statement “I have to abandon Capitalist principles in order to save the Capitalist system.”
However, we applauded the EIGHT times President Bush attempted to get Congress to address the severe problems that he saw growing in the sub-par mortgage markets and the proposed fixes he proposed, ALL OF WHICH WERE KILLED BY DEMOCRATS CHRISTOPHER DODD & BARNEY FRANK, the very things that going unaddressed resulted in the total collapse of the mortgage market and the collapse of the financial markets. BUSH tried, but the DEMOCRATS, who created the problem in the first place—starting in the Clinton Administration with requiring Banks to make loans to unqualified borrowers (the so-called NINJA loans, junk mortgages, pumping up the real estate values across the country) at the risk of losing their FDIC and other Federal backing—NONE of this would have occurred.
“These same republican people then forgot about that republican president and his deeds that they ignored and proceeded to blame the new democratic president for all the sins of his predecessor.”
That is a straw man. Obama has added FAR more to the debt. . . and brought many more of his own sins. Bush was a RINO, but Obama ignores the Constitutional limits placed on Presidential power far more than did Bush. We know the difference and hold both responsible. It is YOU who has forgotten the facts and who is distorting history, which I have corrected in just a small part with this post. We are now going to see even more disaster from your beloved Obama as the ACA causes more disruption to employment and the economy. I am an educated Economist. I know wherefore I write. You apparently don’t.
It is interesting to note that most posts from the Left — with significant exceptions, be it noted — are done anonymously. bjr001 and his ilk seem to be reluctant to have their accusations attached to their names, as though they believe the right to free speech did not come inextricably entwined with the responsibility for what you say.
Let’s just hope someone doesn’t use an iPhone to drop another building somewhere, especially in the US. Lord knows it’ll be all Apple’s fault, for not allowing those NSA patriots access to said information that would have saved lives. Could never have happened with android.
Question to Siri – Are you infected by the NSA?
Siri – “I can’t answer that.” 😉
Time will tell whether it’s true. If we think we know for absolute certainty, ……..we can’t. If software can be written by a human being it can be broken by a human being using a computer.
Are there Apple viruses, NO, but no one can actually guarantee there is not a back door. I believe (99%) that Apple did not willingly create one, but nobody can tell me to that last 1% probability that they were not forced to.
Look at the history of the world. We have not really changed, history is not on a line of linear progression as so many would like to believe. It is circular, we keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again, except with more technology which can both magnify the good things and the bad things.
We can’t know which it is yet. And we won’t know until after it happens.
We now know that NIST, at the urging of the NSA, intentionally weakened protocols commonly used for secured internet communications. They intentionally weakened open source and other software to enable many back doors for direct exploration and the injection of malware to enable other data collection.
Apple relies heavily upon open source and other non-proprietary software for many of it’s features and products. The Safari browser and webkit came from the KDE project, for example. It is but one of many possible examples.
Apple would not have to write the code, just include it in their software. That gives them plausible deniability.
John Stewart did this recently.
http://on.cc.com/16nSbYU