I saw a television interview in which Israel's prime minister pointed toward an iPhone while discussing how technology and social media can be used to influence public opinion and portray people as villains. I interpreted the comments as suggesting that a foreign government could hack or manipulate anyone's iPhone, which made me uncomfortable about continuing to upgrade my devices. I'm also concerned about reports involving compromised communications equipment and the possibility of hidden backdoors in hardware manufactured overseas. Has Apple addressed these claims, and are there any phone brands that offer better protection against government surveillance or remote compromise?
3 Answers
There doesn’t seem to be a specific Apple response confirming the claim described here. If privacy is your main concern, compare Apple’s security updates and privacy controls with a current Google Pixel or another Android phone that receives timely patches. For especially sensitive situations, a regularly updated phone with minimal apps and strong account security matters more than the brand alone.
It’s reasonable to care about supply-chain security, but switching brands alone won’t eliminate the risk of surveillance. Apple, Google, and other major manufacturers regularly patch vulnerabilities, and targeted attacks generally require specific exploits or spyware rather than simply being built into every phone. Keep the operating system updated, use a strong passcode, enable two-factor authentication, and install apps only from official stores.
The statement appears to have been interpreted more broadly than the available transcript supports. The discussion was reportedly about propaganda and how information viewed on someone’s phone can be used to shape a narrative, not an admission that Israel can remotely hack every iPhone. A claim made during an interview is not proof of a universal technical capability, and there’s no evidence here of a secret backdoor in every Apple chip.
That makes sense. I was mainly worried that the comments were an admission of a built-in hardware backdoor, but I haven’t seen technical evidence proving that.