Apple is reportedly building its own servers due to suspicions that the hardware from its usual suppliers is being intercepted by third parties who are adding vulnerabilities before it reaches Apple.
Apple has "long suspected" that the servers it orders are being intercepted during shipping by unknown third parties who add chips and firmware to "make them vulnerable to infiltration," according to sources speaking to The Information.
Apple was so concerned about this possible vulnerability that it even had people taking photos of motherboards and annotating the function of each chip so that it knew exactly what was supposed to be where.
Building up security
The news of Apple increasing security and encryption isn't surprising as both have become quite the focus following the recent battle between the Cupertino-based giant and the FBI.
It also follows rumors from last month that Apple may be building an unhackable iPhone and has plans to lock down user data on iCloud backups with encryption that even Apple itself can't break.
The report this week doesn't reveal when Apple began suspecting that its servers were being intercepted, or if it has in fact found vulnerabilities and how it may have affected users, but it does say that this is just one element of the company's larger plans to better secure data.
It points to another rumored effort, code-named Project McQueen, according to VentureBeat, which involves Apple building its own data storage centers in China and Hong Kong.
Other efforts include building its own networking equipment, as well as systems to help developers power their apps.
Via 9to5Mac
