Tuesday Apple Rumors: NSA Can Access All iPhone Data

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daily apple rumors AAPLHere are your Apple rumors and AAPL news items for today:

Spying: The National Security Agency (NSA) uses a program called DROPOUTJEEP to read any data stored on Apple’s (AAPL) iPhones, Forbes notes. The NSA’s iPhone snooping ability was revealed by security research Jacob Applebaum. An internal NSA document describes DROPOUTJEEP as a “software implant for the Apple iPhone that utilizes modular mission applications to provide specific SIGINT functionality.” According to the document, the NSA can use the program to “remotely push/pull files from the device.” That includes “SMS retrieval, contact list retrieval, voicemail, geolocation, hot mic, camera capture, cell tower location, etc.” The NSA document notes that “all communications with the implant will be covert and encrypted.” Applebaum expressed doubt that Apple provided any assistance to the NSA in developing DROPOUTJEEP. NSA says that it can access any iPhone or iOS device through the program. Apple is hardly the only company whose products have been penetrated by NSA snooping. Devices running Google’s (GOOG) Android and BlackBerry (BBRY) devices have also been hacked.

Hit: Another Apple Store in Europe has been robbed, MacRumors notes. On Monday night, thieves used a car to smash through the front window of the Apple Store in Haarlem, Netherlands. The thieves reportedly abandoned the car used to gain access to the store and fled on two scooters. Witnesses reported hearing the crash during the night. Local police indicated that the thieves made off with only a limited amount of merchandise. The Haarlem store only opened earlier this month. Just a week ago, thieves in Germany crashed a car through an Apple Store outside of Berlin, stealing $117,000 worth of Apple products. As in the Dutch incident, the German thieves left the vehicle used to gain access to the store behind.

Surprise: Apple’s pricey next-generation Mac Pro turns out to be relatively easy to repair, CNET notes. The all-new Mac Pro ditches the gray-grilled box of the prior model in favor of a small, sleek black cylinder. The new high-end desktop went on sale this month after being first shown off at Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Pricing starts at $2,999. Unlike Apple’s line if iMac desktops, the new Mac Pro received a rating of 8 on iFixit’s repairability scale — out of a possible 10. Users can upgrade RAM memory, solid state drives and even swap out processors without too much trouble. The Mac Pro is “surprisingly modular and easy to disassemble,” iFixit notes, though the site cautions about the advisability of modifying such an expensive piece of equipment without the requisite tools and experience.

For more about the company, check out our previous Apple Rumors stories.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2013/12/tuesday-apple-rumors-nsa-can-access-iphone-data/.

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