Apple Angry At Google , Attacks It Over iPhone Security Flaws

On August 29, Google took out a report stating that there are websites that could exploit Apple security flaws to hack iPhones and steal personal data, including text messages, photos and contacts. 

The exploits were published by Google Project Zero, which is an elite bug-finding team that finds flaws in software from major companies. The stated mission is to make all software harder to hack.

This report resulted in an outrage across the nation. The report, which was posted online read as, a series of websites that had exploited security holes in iPhone software that existed over a series of two years, but the report did not identify the nature of the websites. Simply by visiting a site was enough to compromise a phone's security. 

Days after that, Apple on Friday responded to Google's report in a statement stating that the attacks have been identified by Google were through websites targeted toward Uighurs, a Muslim ethnic minority in China, implying that the websites were not a serious threat to Americans or most people in other parts of the world. 

“First, the sophisticated attack was narrowly focused, not a broad-based exploit of iPhones ‘en masse’ as described. The attack affected fewer than a dozen websites that focus on content related to the Uighur community," Apple said in the statement.

As per BBC report, Apple also asserted that Google post creates "false impression of ‘mass exploitation." It also challenged Google’s claims that the attacks were operational for years and said the flaws mentioned by Google were fixed in February, 10 days after it learned of the exploits.

“Second, all evidence indicates that these website attacks were only operational for a brief period, roughly two months, not ‘two years’ as Google implies,” Apple further said in the statement.

Meanwhile, a Google spokesman told media that “We stand by our in-depth research which was written to focus on the technical aspects of these vulnerabilities. We will continue to work with Apple and other leading companies to help keep people safe online.”