China has announced that each mobile phone user in the mainland is under strict surveillance by the authorities. The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently issued a notice stating that Apple’s iOS 13.0 to 17.2.1 products have high-risk vulnerabilities that can lead to user information being stolen, and recommended prompt system upgrades. However, the notice sparked suspicion among netizens.
On April 3, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued a notice stating that they had monitored and discovered that “attackers were exploiting vulnerabilities in Apple’s terminal products to carry out network attack activities, which could lead to serious harm such as information theft and system control. The affected range includes Apple’s terminal products running iOS 13.0 to 17.2.1, such as iPhones and iPads”.
The notice mentioned that “attackers lure users to visit web pages containing malicious code using methods such as SMS, emails, or web page poisoning, through Safari browser, and exploit security vulnerabilities in terminal devices to implant remote control Trojans in the affected terminal products to steal sensitive user information, gain the highest permission, and control them”.
The notice advised users to promptly repair the vulnerabilities through upgrading system versions and installing security patches.
However, the notice from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has raised a lot of doubt and mockery among netizens.
Some netizens pointed out that Apple’s system is already far beyond iOS 17, reaching 26.4, questioning the relevance of the notice. They sarcastically remarked, “Is it insecure or too secure to monitor? Honestly, my information being stolen by foreigners has little impact on me. But if my information is stolen by the Chinese, it would be a big deal. Everyone is stealing information, we are all transparent, one more doesn’t matter.”
Others commented, “Meituan extensively invades computers, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is silent, but they come down heavily when there is a flaw in the old Apple system,” and also questioned why there is so much focus on information leakage when controlled systems should be a bigger concern.
Screenshots shared by netizens show that on April 3, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology reminded iPhone users to upgrade their systems to fix security vulnerabilities. The video garnered 430,000 likes, with only 106 comments remaining after some were deleted.
A blogger named ziyousuiwo on April 5 expressed their thoughts, saying that “The Chinese Communist Party only wants to harm you. When the CCP tells you to upgrade, has an agreement been reached between Apple and China?”
Following some reminders from netizens, ziyousuiwo suggested that it was highly likely that a few days ago, Apple pushed the Apple AI system update to some mainland Chinese iPhone without reporting it. This flaw was quickly fixed, but as long as users who downloaded Apple AI did not update their systems, they could continue using Apple AI permanently. This is why the Chinese authorities directly instructed users to upgrade, losing access to Apple AI after the upgrade.
On April 6, ziyousuiwo revealed that on March 31, a mainland Chinese blogger posted that the Apple Store in China launched a demonstration of iPhone AI. Based on current information, Apple originally planned to push the Apple AI update to the mainland Chinese version of the iPhone in the near future. However, the Chinese authorities intervened and cut off the Apple AI update abruptly.
Nevertheless, the true nature of the notice issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology is currently unclear.
On April 6, a mainland Chinese blogger released a video questioning whether iPhone users should upgrade. Concerned about the potential impact on phone usage after the upgrade, she contacted Apple customer service regarding the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s notice. The response from Apple customer service was that they had not received such a notification, claiming it was issued by a third party.
The blogger stated that Apple’s response was cautious, which gave her some reassurance, suggesting everyone to make their own decision.