When Google's Project Zero revealed that malicious websites have been hacking iPhone users for years every time they visited the sites, users were terrified. While the details are very interesting especially for those who are into information security, the point is that hackers were freely exploiting various iOS security levels to access to users' private data like photos, databases, and passwords for highly encrypted apps like iMessage and WhatsApp. But this news should not only worry iPhone users because the truth is, Android users are vulnerable as well.
More than 1 billion iPhone users are still reeling from the disturbing revelation shared by Google Project Zero team about the hacked websites that were used to attack iPhones for a couple of years. All the user has to do is simply visit the website to be exposed, and the sad truth is that every single up-to-date iPhone has been vulnerable to the attack. But a new report surfaced recently suggesting that the websites were a part of a state-supported attack intended to target the Uighur community in China's Xinjiang state.
What makes this new information damning is the fact that a nation is associated in a mass targeting of Apple devices against a particular portion of its population which appears to have evaded censure or notice for a couple of years or more. If China can do this, others can, which implies that a solid sense of security has been broken. But, what makes this scarier is that the attack may not only be limited to iPhone users.
Hackers are not particular on the kind of smartphone you are using. Most of these hackers are after the user's data, which only means that Android users are susceptible to this kind of attacks too. iPhones are only targeted first because users appear to have more disposable income and a much better target in terms of stealing money, but for those trying to steal data what is important is to attack as many users as possible.
In the US, doctors, celebrities, lawyers are using both iPhone and Android smartphones. It is just a matter of time that we hear news of Android users exposed to similar attacks done to Apple users if tech companies do not step up their security levels. Any smartphone users should not easily trust links sent to them to prevent being exposed to this kind of attack.
Any security attack which attempts to steal users' data should be everybody's concern. It does not matter whether you are the kind of person that uses an extremely strong password and diligently encrypts and locks all your iPhone or Android devices. While you are using the internet, there is no guarantee that you will not stumble upon a website embedded with a malware of this kind.
