Yesterday Patently Apple posted a report about Apple gaining support from the 'Americans for Prosperity' Advocacy Group, founded by the Koch brothers, in their court battle over claims that the App store is anti-competitive. Today we're learning that a group of national security experts filed an argument supporting Apple in their anti-competitive court battle.

Former senior national security officials, including two ex-CIA directors and a past NSA director, are backing Apple (AAPL)'s app store practices as the iPhone maker fights a critical antitrust case.

The nearly two-dozen security experts and former US officials argued Thursday in a court filing that proposals to force open Apple's mobile ecosystem — such as requirements that iPhones be able to install apps from outside the official app store — would harm user and national security.

The star-studded list of signatories includes Gen. Michael Hayden and John Brennan, the former CIA directors, along with Mike McConnell, the former director of national intelligence and NSA director.

Others signing onto the friend-of-the-court submission include William Evanina, former director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center; the longtime national security expert Richard Clarke; and various others with past roles at the Pentagon, the White House and the Department of Homeland Security.

"Requiring Apple devices to accept third-party apps and app stores necessarily increases the risk of malware on iOS devices, which directly correlates to an increased risk to national security," the former officials wrote.

The filing comes as Apple seeks to convince a federal appeals court to uphold a lower-court ruling that Apple does not run an illegal monopoly in iOS app distribution. The antitrust case, initially brought by "Fortnite"-maker Epic Games, has been closely watched due to its potential to upend the business models of Apple and Google, the world's largest app store operators. For more on this, read the full CNN report.

A win for Apple in this court case would give them a foundation from which they could challenge the EU Commission's future case against them aimed at forcing sideloading and more.