Report: China has used attacks on a website on an iPhone to target Uyghur Muslims



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A few days ago, Google Project Zero's security researchers detailed a series of exploits of malicious websites aimed at iPhone users. Now, TechCrunch reports that the Chinese government used these attacks to target Uyghur Muslims.

Ecobee HomeKit Thermostat

Citing sources familiar with the subject, TechCrunch indicates that the malicious websites used to hack iPhones, described in detail by Google, were part of a "state-sponsored attack," likely from China, aimed at "targeting the Xinjiang Uyghur community" .

The report goes on to detail that, according to UN data, Beijing has reportedly arrested "more than one million Uyghurs in internment camps" over the past year.

Google researchers first explained that the victims had been forced to open a link that would direct them to an infected web page. On this webpage, the malware has been deployed. The implant "focused primarily on file theft and uploading live location data," every 60 seconds. Because the end device itself had been compromised, services such as iMessage were also affected, researchers said.

When Google's security researchers detailed this attack for the first time, it was difficult to determine who it was targeting specifically. TechCrunch The report now provides more details on this subject.

The websites were part of a campaign aimed at targeting the religious group by infecting an iPhone with malicious code simply by visiting a web page trapped. By gaining unlimited access to iPhone software, an attacker could read a victim's messages and passwords and track their location in near real-time.

The report adds that the websites in question would also infect non-Uighurs who visited the infected website. Domains were indexed in Google search results, allowing anyone to easily fall on it.

Apple has corrected the vulnerability leveraged with the release of iOS 12.1.4 in February. Apple has not yet commented on these new reports detailing the extent and target of attacks.

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