Apple responds to 'backdoor' services in iOS, claims they are for troubleshooting technical issues

[Shawn Knight]

A number of news outlets (TechSpot included) ran a story yesterday in which security expert Jonathan Zdziarski claims to have found several backdoors in iOS that can be used by law enforcement and government agencies to potentially spy on citizens. The Cupertino-based company has since responded to the claims, essentially calling them hogwash.

In an e-mail to Financial Times journalist Tim Bradshaw, Apple doesn't deny the backdoors in iOS. Instead, they refer to them as diagnostic functions which are primarily used by IT departments, developers and Apple for troubleshooting technical issues.

"We have designed iOS so that its diagnostic functions do not compromise user privacy and security, but still provides needed information to enterprise IT departments, developers and Apple for troubleshooting technical issues. A user must have unlocked their device and agreed to trust another computer before that computer is able to access this limited diagnostic data. The user must agree to share this information, and data is never transferred without their consent.

As we have said before, Apple has never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products of services."

Zdziarski said he wasn't suggesting some grand conspiracy but there are certainly some services running in iOS that shouldn't be there which were intentionally added by Apple as part of the firmware. He said he simply wants the services off his phone as they don't belong there.

If Apple's explanation is indeed accurate, then it seems plausible that someone in an IT department or a developer with experience using the services in question will come forward to back up Apple's claims, no?

With Apple having released a statement on the matter, it's unlikely that the issue will escalate any higher and Zdziarski and others probably won't get the answers they're searching for.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/57490-apple-responds-to-backdoor-services-in-ios-claims-they-are-for-troubleshooting-technical-issues.html

 

[Jad Chaar]

I doubt it... Apple has to reject the claims even if they are actually true.

 

[Guest]

You dont really think that Apple would acknowledge this right.

Thats why I dont use Iphone or any Apple products. There systems are so closed that you cannot do anything.

 

[Guest]

What do you do on Android that you can't do on Apple?

 

[Greg S]

What do you do on Android that you can't do on Apple?

GPS coordinate based settings (e.g. make your phone silent at your office), 16 megapixel camera with 4k video, widgets, use it as a universal remote control, customize OS menus, lock screen, and manually adjust processor speed to save battery life.

 

[Heihachi1337]

Apple's release statement is brought to you by the NSA "we know where you sleep".
Move along, nothing to see here people. Ignore the invasion of your privacy.

 

[Heihachi1337]

I'm predicting that there will be news about the Android OS having similar "dev tools" in the next couple of weeks.
They considered one for the Windows Phone but realized nobody uses it. =P

 

[Guest]

Baloney!

 

[davislane1]

What do you do on Android that you can't do on Apple?

GPS coordinate based settings (e.g. make your phone silent at your office), 16 megapixel camera with 4k video, widgets, use it as a universal remote control, customize OS menus, lock screen, and manually adjust processor speed to save battery life.

In other words, all the things the average smartphone user either doesn't know about or doesn't use.

Though, the exact same criticism applies to the iPhone.

 

[insect]

A user must have unlocked their device and agreed to trust another computer before that computer is able to access this limited diagnostic data.

Because no one has ever accessed data without permission when the doors are there. /sarcasm

Sometimes you just have to knock a little harder and doors open, to use a metaphor.

 

[lipe123]

I don't even know why people bother with apple products and these issues.
I thought its common knowledge that when you buy an Iphone you actually sell your soul for real.

If it bothers you get an android device and load an after market stripped rom on it.

 

[Guest]

Ok... so.. you didnt have a written agreement to do the spying.. it was all verbal.. so that you can deny it..
either way.. why dont you call barak obama to veto and make it all lies..

 

[Guest]

16 megapixel camera with 4k video

Don't tell me you believe that bigger numbers means better.
Why do you think that cameras like the 8 MP one on the iPhone or the 4 MP one on the HTC One perform just as well (and often better in low-light setting) than the 15 to 20 MP cameras other Android phones use? Magic? Or do you think that 41 MP camera on the Lumia 1020 is better than a 18 MP Canon EOS?
The quality of a camera doesn't depend on the ammount of pixels it produces, genius. It depends on many other factors, and one of them is the size of each light sensor. The ones used by Apple and HTC are significantly larger than the ones used by the common Android OEMs, and thus are better at capturing light and avoiding color noise.
So no, buying a phone with a "16 megapixels" stamped on it doesn't guarantee a camera better than the iPhone's. It doesn't even guarantee a better camera than HTC's 4 MP one.

 

[captaincranky]

The first time I ever saw a mobile phone in use, some guy I know's wife was calling to check up on him. I immediately dubbed cell phones, "electronic leashes", Fast forward a coupe of decades, and now it's the NSA yanking your chains, instead of the"old lady".

Really, it's time to either throw the cell phones in the trash, and live autonomously, or change the species name to, "Homo Addictus", and quit your incessant whining about, "my privacy is being invaded". You asked for an electronic babysitter fool, and you got it, in spades.

 

[tonylukac]

My android phone has a mind of it's own. I factory reset and without loading any new apps, some days it's in vibrator mode, some days it rings. Sometimes you hear touch tones when making calls sometimes not. Sometimes the sound is loud, sometimes soft. It seems to even turn itself on at times. Then, without having loaded any new apps, it needed another factory reset. WIth computers we knew about firewalls and viruses. With these things they are just black boxes, sort of like chips.

 

[Guest]

4k video is something your 8MP iphone can barely do, so the MP does count for something!

 

[Guest]

4k video is something your 8MP iphone can barely do, so the MP does count for something!

Good, I had forgotten to make that second point.
4K video is a meaningless measure. Not only because there is literally zero practical uses for 4K video, and it will remain like that for many years to come; but also because thinking video is better because of resolution is even more senseless than thinking that higher megapixel count makes a camera better.
First of all, the same concept of sensor size and light sensitivy that affects quality of photos also affect quality of video. A higher-MP camera with small sensors does not produce better video than a lower-MP camera with large sensors.
Second, video quality is (practically) independent of resolution. Instead, it's a consequence of the bitrate used to encode the video (as well as the sophistication of the codec itself, of course). Having a "4K" video made by a high-MP-count camera that already has lower light sensitivity, lower sharpness and more noise, and is then encoded to use reasonable space in the memory of a smartphone will NOT be any better than a 1080p video produced by a lower-MP-count camera with larger sensors, who will capture an overall better image and then require a lower bitrate to achieve the same level of quality, or keep the same bitrate and achieve a higher level of quality than a "4K" video would have. As is the case with the iPhones and the HTC One.
In other words, being "4K" doesn't automatically make videos better. No smartphone camera today (Android or iPhone alike) is capable of making a proper, sharp 4K video. And even if they were, the ammount of storage those proper 4K videos would require would make it impractical to keep saving them on smartphone storage. But it sells, because "bigger numbers are better", right? A 16 MP camera is better than a 8 MP camera, even though the smaller sensors mean it doesn't actually capture a better images than the 8 MP one. Four or eight cores are better, even though the enormous majority of apps available for Android does not make use of that many cores. And don't forget the 1440p screens, which are obviously better than 1080p screens, despite no noticeable increase in image quality and the increased energy consumption. What matters is the bigger number.

 

[misor]

The security loopholes are called security features when present in apple devices. da**, I love apple spinners.

 

[Guest]

And you can transfer files via bluetooth
like on every other phone. I require it so I switched to android and I'd NEVER switch back to iphone
I have a Samsung galaxy ace3 its great

 

[Guest]

I can't understand why so many American comment writers hate their homeland Apple and prefer South Korean Samsung. Don't you have a single note of patriotism in you, people? Instead of being super proud to live in the same country with such a great company as Apple, you all whine that it can't shoot 8K video under water, or bake cupcakes while giving you a shave. Shame on you! Next time you read about unemployment problems you have in the States, think about how happy South Koreans are with the jobs you created for them by buying Samsung phones. Yeah, yeah, it's all made in China anyway, I know, but I'm talking about high profile jobs that companies like Apple create, for educated people, not factory jobs that robots can replace. Consumers, huh... You'd consume yourself if you would have a good ad campaign.

 

[Guest]

HaHa! my cell phone is a cheap $40 Samsung that makes txt and voice calls. Exactly what it's purpose was intended! That's what you get when you turn a cell phone into a mini computer, problems. Even with 1000 back doors, are you gonna give up your iPhone? Bet not. XD

 

[mailpup]

I can't understand why so many American comment writers hate their homeland Apple and prefer South Korean Samsung. Don't you have a single note of patriotism in you, people?...

You shouldn't assume that most of the posters in this thread are from America. Most aren't.

 

[captaincranky]

I can't understand why so many American comment writers hate their homeland Apple and prefer South Korean Samsung. Don't you have a single note of patriotism in you, people? Instead of being super proud to live in the same country with such a great company as Apple.

Oh goody, a racist troll, posting as a " concerned citizen of the world", wagging its finger at Americans, and questioning their, "patriotism".

Apple has a shiny campus in Cupertino CA, and that's about as "American" as they get. The vast majority of their product is produced in China, and I've been led to believe part of their business is given tax shelter in Ireland.

So, about as "American" as Apple gets, is to siphon off Americans money, to China, Ireland, and their executives pockets for overpriced goods.

And really, don't wave my flag for me, it doesn't look good on you..