Apple Says Never Worked With NSA To Create IPhone Backdoors

(RTTNews) - Apple Inc. (AAPL) said Tuesday that it has never worked with the U.S. National Security Agency to create a backdoor in any of its products, including iPhone.

The company issued a statement Tuesday in response to a leaked document alleging that the NSA had targeted Apple's iPhones in a spyware program called "DROPOUTJEEP" in 2008. The document indicated that once the software was installed on an iPhone, it had the ability to access the device's data, activate the phone's microphone or camera, intercept text messages or narrow down a user's location using cell towers, reports said.

The reports stated that the document relating to Apple was part of a larger cache detailing ways the NSA can gain access to equipment made by Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO), Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR), and others.

"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," Apple said in the statement.

AAPL closed Tuesday's regular trading at $561.02, up $6.50 or 1.17% on Nasdaq.