Apple issues iCloud alert as experts fear China may be behind latest attack

Apple has posted a new security warning for users of its iCloud online storage service amid reports of a determined effort to steal passwords and other data from people who use the service in China. Apple’s post did not mention China or provide any details on the attacks. But there have been several news reports that some Chinese internet users have begun seeing warnings that indicate they had been diverted to an unauthorised website when they attempted to sign into their iCloud accounts.

We’re aware of intermittent organised network attacks using insecure certificates to obtain user information and we take this very seriously.

Apple

That kind of diversion, known to computer security experts as a “man in the middle” attack, could allow a third party to copy and steal the passwords that users enter when they think they are signing into Apple’s service. Hackers could then use the passwords to collect other data from the users’ accounts. Chinese activists blamed the attacks on the country’s government, according to reports and Chinese activist website GreatFire.org, which suggested the campaign was spurred by the fact that Apple recently began selling its newest iPhone models, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, in China. The new smartphones have software with enhanced encryption features to protect Apple users’ data.

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