NSA seizes full control of targeted iPhones via DROPOUTJEEP malware

The NSA developed in 2008 a software program for iPhones that can selectively and stealthily deliver data from iPhones to the NSA. The program is called DROPOUTJEEP. News of the malware is the latest to come out of the ongoing Snowden document media bonanza.

DROPOUTJEEP can read and retrieve SMS messages, contact lists, voice messages, and the iPhone's location via GPS and cell phone towers. It can also remotely activate the microphone and the camera.

In short, DROPOUTJEEP can gain full covert "command and control" over any iPhone on which it is installed.

The method of installation is not entirely clear, but logic dictates DROPOUTJEEP has to be installed either remotely or with hands on. In light of last weekend's Der Spiegel Snowden document analysis showing the NSA has infiltrated a wide range of proprietary hardware throughout the tech industry, the latter is a distinct possibility. That is to say, some iPhones currently in use in the wild may have physically passed through the NSA before arriving, bugged, in users' hands.

The NSA document describing DROPOUTJEEP seems to imply exactly that:

    "The initial release of DROPOUTJEEP will focus on installing the implant via close access methods."

How many iPhones have DROPOUTJEEP installed? And how many iPads? There's no way of knowing that at this point. It could be considered alarmist to imply a pervasive NSA influence on the iOS ecosystem. Equally alarmist -- and unfair -- might be to imply that Apple knowingly cooperated with the NSA on DROPOUTJEEP.

But questions are being raised, as in the case of Jacob Applebaum's comments today at a Chaos Communication Project event. Among them: "Either [the NSA] have a huge collection of exploits that work against Apple products, meaning that they are hoarding information about critical systems that American companies produce and sabotaging them, or Apple sabotaged it themselves."

In either case, iOS owners won't find much comfort in this little revelation. But neither will anyone who owns almost any kind of device from any manufacturer. The NSA is now everywhere.







SOURCE: Forbes

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Apple’s Tim Cook heading to Turkey in 2014 over big iPad deal, says sources

Yesterday, an Apple employee newsletter surfaced in which CEO Tim Cook teased some big plans the company has in store for 2014. While such big plans weren't elaborated on, a Turkish publication -- Emlakkulisi -- has reported that Cook has a trip to Turkey planned for February 2014, where he will reportedly talk to Turkey's President Abdullah Gul about something being referred to as "FATIH Project".

The FATIH Project, as it is being called, is a mission to update educational institutions in Turkey from the traditional chalkboards and textbooks to things more modern and portable. The technology would include a vast quantity of tablets, of which it is being reported iPads will make up a hefty sum. This follows a visit by Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Apple's headquarters earlier this year.

The visit was said to involve listening to a company pitch of its iPad slates, something similar to visits that also took place with Microsoft and Google. Under the FATIH Project, 10.6 million tablets will be acquired in phases for schools in the nation. Following that acquisition, it is being reported iPads numbering between 2 and 2.5 million units could be purchased.

In February, CEO Cook will reportedly visit Turkey to discuss this matter, as well as to visit the first Apple Store in the country, which is located in the Zorlu Center in Istanbul and opens in early 2014. The information is said to come from unnamed sources close to the matter that spoke to the Turkish media company.





SOURCE: Apple Insider

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Inbox Cube for iOS enlivens email with customizability

The team behind Inbox Cube' are not satisfied with the way email looks and functions on mobile devices. They’ve decided to create' their own unique interface, one that centers not just on the user’s ability to customize' the way they recieve emails, but in the way the whole' experience is unleashed. Here the folks at Inbox Cube' aim to help users engage in conversation in a way that’s long since become' entirely rare in the email universe.

There are three different kinds of “cubes” in the Inbox' Cube user interface. The first is an email cube  here you’ve got the basics, including text, images, and the whole lot. There’s another cube called the “attachment cube”. This cube is just the content plain and simple.

Finally there’s the contacts' cube here you’ll have a look that’s rather similar to the other two cubes, but makes your' searches for those you want to speak with a whole lot more engaging. This UI allows for different types of views' one or two columns, for starters – and zooming' is encouraged.

This app works with Gmail, iCloud, Yahoo mail, AOL email, and IMAP accounts. You’ll be able to connect' more than one account to the same Inbox Cube app, and the app is available' on iOS and only iOS for now. Have a peek at this app right' this minute and let us know what you think.




Source : definefreak

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Retina iPad mini, iPad 5 without Touch ID amongst KGI predictions

The second iPad mini will include a Retina upgrade and the iPad 5 will not have TouchID as was previously rumored, according to KGI Securities analyst Mingchi Kuo. These and a bevy of other predictions were released today in advance of the Oct. 22 iPad event to be held in San Francisco. The event will unveil a series of updates to the various iPads as well as to the MacBook Pro.

According to Kuo, the iPad mini will be somewhat heavier due to the Retina upgrade. This resolution improvement has been in the works for about a year, and its release looks to be on-schedule. It will run on the powerful A7 processor, the same chip used in the iPhone 5s.

The iPad 5 will slim down a bit to 7.5 mm, lighten to 500 grams, and run on the new 64-bit A7X processor. Its lack of TouchID is due to the run on demand for the part, which is barely keeping up with iPhone 5s demand. The back-facing camera on the iPad 5 will increase to 8MP with a larger aperture.

The MacBook Pro will have a new processor, the Intel Haswell. This should increase the computer’s power and extend its battery life. The camera will upgrade from HD to full HD “to improve FaceTime quality on Retina display,” according to the Kuo report.

There’s more on what to expect from Apple’s October 22 event in our pre-show round-up. SlashGear will be there to bring you all the news as it happens in our liveblog; join us from 10AM PT (that’s 1PM Eastern and 6PM in the UK) at live. slashgear.com for all the ipad news and whatever else Apple decides to announce!





SOURCE: 9to5Mac

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