Ex-NSA Chief Hayden: ‘Apple Is Right’; Backdoor Will Be ‘Negative’ to National Security

In a big blow to the FBI's case against Apple, the former head of the NSA, General Michael Hayden, this morning came out in defense of Apple. 

"I ran NSA, backdoors are backdoors," Hayden told Charlie Rose on "CBS This Morning. "If they are in there, good security services around the world are going to exploit that and take advantage of that."

Hayden said that once such a "backdoor" into the iPhone existed, governments "who wish us no good" could exploit the technology. 

Hayden even said that the FBI's request on a net basis jeopardizes America's national security: "My judgment, in this particular case is that universal backdoors, although it may facilitate American law enforcement for very good purposes, on balance, on balance, actually are an overall negative for American security, not just American privacy."