Apple helped US government turn iPods into possible stealth Geiger counters

guest · Aug 18, 2020

Apple helped US government turn iPods into possible stealth Geiger counters
August 18, 2020
https://www.cultofmac.com/720429/apple-ipods-possible-stealth-geiger-counters/

Apple teamed up with the U.S. government to build a modified iPod that might have been a stealth Geiger counter for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation, claims former Apple software engineer David Shayer.

In an article for TidBits, Shayer — who left Apple in 2015 — described the secret project as a “special assignment” only known to about four people at Apple. It was his job to assist two engineers working for a U.S. defense contractor to the Department of Energy.

“They wanted to add some custom hardware to an iPod and record data from this custom hardware to the iPod’s disk in a way that couldn’t be easily detected. But it still had to look and work like a normal iPod.
I learned that an official at the Department of Energy had contacted Apple’s senior vice president of Hardware, requesting the company’s help in making custom modified iPods.
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The article is pretty fascinating, and well worth a read. Shayer said Apple did not provide any hardware or software. The iPods used were fifth-gen models, bought from retail stores and then modified.

Shayer is not sure what these secret iPods were used for. However, the Department of Energy is responsible for the U.S. nuclear weapons and power programs. “My guess is that Paul and Matthew were building something like a stealth Geiger counter,” he wrote.
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