The Federal Security Service (FSB) of Russia has accused to the United States National Security Agency hack into the iPhones of foreign citizens and diplomats in Russia as part of a spy operation.
The FSB said several thousand Apple phones had been infected with hitherto unknown malware to access so-called backdoor vulnerabilities in Apple phones.
Apple has responded indirectly to the Russian claim that The alleged operation included close cooperation between Apple and the NSA. Unsurprisingly, the indictment came without any proof that Apple was actually involved.
Despite strong government pressure, Apple has expressed on numerous occasions its opposition to compromising the security of its customers to satisfy requests to create a backdoor in iPhone software.
The logic is simple: If Apple creates a key that only the good guys can use, that key invalidates the security of all customers. There would be no way of knowing if that key fell into the wrong hands.
If the government can use the All Writs Act to make it easier to unlock your iPhone, it would have the power to reach into anyone’s device to capture their data.
The government could amplify this breach of privacy and require Apple to build surveillance software to intercept your messages, access your medical records or financial data, track your location, or even access your phone’s microphone or camera without your knowledge.
It should also not be surprising that Apple denies ever agreeing to any requests to compromise the security of the iPhone, indirectly denying the accusation:
