Malicious websites that hacked into iPhones over 2-year period targeted Uyghur Muslims in China: Report

A number of malicious websites that were recently reported to have been secretly hacking into iPhones over a two-year period were in fact targeting Uyghur Muslims, Zack Whittaker of TechCrunch reports today.

Android and Windows users were also targeted in the same watering hole attacks affecting iPhone users, Thomas Brewster later reported at Forbes.

The entity which would be presumed most likely behind such an attack is the government of China, or an entity working for the government's interests -- so there's been much speculation the attacker is China.

Some questions remain. Exactly what the FBI's role in this remains unknown. And were Android users also targeted by the same campaign?

— Zack Whittaker (@zackwhittaker) September 1, 2019

But no proof in the code found. And some doubt it was China.

Good reporting by Techcrunch here. Not PR for Apple or China, or conspiracy mongering.

Read the TechCrunch article, and check out some of the analysis on Twitter below from infosec folks.

[via Techmeme, images: Shutterstock]

New: @iblametom has confirmed that Android and Windows users were *also* targeted in the same watering hole attacks affecting iPhone users. https://t.co/RV3NCOoRMY

— Zack Whittaker (@zackwhittaker) September 1, 2019

I'm going to be the odd one here and say this isn't right. So far China has had complete control of the Uyghurs using physical means and coercion. Their entire lives are controlled so why go this route when you will get burned (china doesn't like people knowing internal stuff)

— Daniel Cuthbert (@dcuthbert) September 1, 2019

I cannot find anywhere in this article *any* sourcing for the assertion the hack was by China, or to target Uyghur Muslims.