Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook recently met up with Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai. This meet-up comes right after iCloud was attacked by China.
Cook and Kai met up in Beijing to discuss strengthening cooperation in telecommunications division. Security issues will also be discussed. Cook has often visited China, even long before he became CEO of the company. China is a key company for Apple and it is important for the company to maintain positive relations with the country.
Apple’s iCloud hacked
Just a few days before the visit, Apple noticed it’s iCloud service was targeted by man-in-the-middle attack. Anyone who visited the iCloud site in China would see untrusted digital certificates which is a sign the website was tampered with.
Yesterday, Apple alerted users about the attack but did not name China in the post. This whole ordeal started when Apple launched the iPhone 6 in China just last week. GreatFire.org (anti-censorship group) blamed the Chinese government for the attack however the nation’s foreign ministry denies any involvement.
China’s concerns over Apple
[drizzle]China has shown growing concern over potential security flaws within iOS software which prompted the country to demand Apple makes changes.
In one online posting a regulator mentioned it was paying attention to protecting user privacy on mobile phones. The regulator summed it up, “If it’s discovered that any related businesses are involved in violating user’s privacy, they will be investigated and dealt with according to the law.”
Apple subsequently made the necessary changes and vowed to never interfere with user information without their permission. For now, Android is the leading mobile operating system in China and it has a 93% market share during the second quarter. However, Apple products still remain very popular and the iPhone 6 is attracting a huge demand from China’s consumers.
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