Apple on Tuesday denied that it had worked with the US National Security Agency to create an electronic backdoor into the iPhone that would allow the popular smartphones to be activated as a spying device, dpa reported.
Apple's statement to US media outlets followed a report in Der Spiegel outlining a purported NSA program called DROPOUTJEEP. In documents leaked to the German newsmagazine by Edward Snowden, the program was described as a "software implant" for Apple's iPhone that would allow for intelligence officials to intercept SMS messages, contact lists, voicemails, geo-location data and more, as well as activate the phone's camera and microphone.
"Apple has never worked with the NSA to create a backdoor in any of our products, including iPhone," the company said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal's technology blog All Things D. "Additionally, we have been unaware of this alleged NSA program targeting our products."
The company said it would not allow any organisation to compromise the security of its products. "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," Apple said.