The U.S. National
Security Agency was developing in 2008 a software implant for Apple iPhones
that allowed the agency to take almost total control of the device, including
retrieving text messages and voicemail and remotely turning on its microphone
and camera, according to a report by Der Spiegel.
The implant,
code-named DROPOUTJEEP, was "in development" and initially intended
for "close access" installation on a phone, with remote installation
being planned for a future release, according to an alleged NSA document with
the date Oct. 1, 2008 that Der Spiegel included in a graphic with its recent
NSA report.
DROPOUTJEEP's other
capabilities included remotely pushing and pulling files from an iPhone,
retrieving the phone's contact list and identifying the device's location and
the location of the nearest cell tower, the document said. The implant could do
all this without the phone user's knowledge, over SMS (Short Message Service)
or a GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) data connection. All the software
implant's communications would be "covert and encrypted," the
document said.
GPRS was a pre-3G
mobile data technology with speeds much lower than today's LTE networks. The
first-generation iPhone was introduced in 2007, and the iPhone 3G came out in
mid-2008.
Apple could not
immediately be reached for comment on the report. In a statement reported by
the Wall Street Journal, the company said it was unaware of the project and had
never worked with the NSA and had never worked with agency to create a backdoor
to any of its products.
