CIA researchers have worked for nearly a decade to break the security protecting Apple phones and tablets, investigative news site The Intercept reported Tuesday, citing documents obtained from NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
The report cites top-secret U.S. documents that suggest U.S. government researchers had created a version of XCode, Apple's software application development tool, to create surveillance back doors into programs distributed on Apple's App Store.
The Intercept has in the past published a number of reports from documents released by Snowden. The site's editors include Glenn Greenwald, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his work in reporting on Snowden's revelations, and by Oscar-winning documentary maker Laura Poitras.