Apple Inc Chief Executive Tim Cook on Friday told an online news website that Bloomberg should retract a story that claimed Apple's internal computer systems had been infiltrated by malicious computer chips inserted by Chinese intelligence agents.
"There is no truth in their story about Apple," Cook told BuzzFeed News in an interview. "They need to do that right thing and retract it."
Apple confirmed the accuracy of the BuzzFeed News report but declined to comment further.
Cook's comments followed a denial by Apple that Bloomberg included in its story, a statement posted on Apple's own website, and a letter to U.S. lawmakers.
Apple declined to say whether it planned to take legal action against Bloomberg.
In response to questions about Cook's request for a retraction in the BuzzFeed News story on Friday, Bloomberg reiterated that it was confident of its report, which has been conducted over more than a year.
The news agency said that 17 sources confirmed "the manipulation of hardware and other elements of the attacks."
Bloomberg had reported that China infiltrated the supply chain of computer hardware maker Super Micro Computer Inc to plant malicious chips that could be used to steal corporate and government secrets.
Bloomberg said in its report that some 30 companies and multiple U.S. government agencies were targeted by the chips, which would give China secret access to internal networks.
Bloomberg also said the supply chain-level breach affected almost 30 companies, including Amazon Web Services and Apple, citing an anonymous official.
However, both Amazon and Super Micro have denied the Bloomberg report.
Apple denied the Bloomberg report during that time in a statement, saying that "Apple has never found malicious chips."
China has repeatedly stressed that it is a resolute defender of cybersecurity, and it also believes that the international community should work together to tackle cybersecurity threats through dialogue on the basis of mutual respect, equality and mutual benefit.
