[eridius]

Despite the assertion of this article, it doesn't actually give any evidence to support the claim that Apple is capable of writing this backdoor. The important question is whether it's possible for Apple to update the OS on the phone (or to load a program into memory that runs on the phone) via DFU mode or something similar without triggering a wipe of the phone. And this article doesn't even acknowledge that question, it makes the blind assumption that this is possible. But is it? As far as I know, nobody has ever updated an iPhone over DFU mode without erasing the phone. It's plausible that Apple has the know-how to do that, but it's also plausible that the device firmware may have been written to trigger a wipe the moment any modification is made via DFU mode.

As a side note, the author mentions that Apple has updated the Secure Enclave with increased delays in the past without wiping data, though they state that only Apple knows how it really works. I just want to put forth the theory that maybe the Secure Enclave allows its firmware to be updated if and only if the user's passcode is provided at the time the OS tells the Secure Enclave to prepare for a firmware update. That would be a reasonable way to ensure the Secure Enclave can't be subverted.