Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) Hacked!!!

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By Thomas Copeland on October 23, 2014 Intl News

As Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) rounded up the year with amazing revenue figures, record setting sales of its new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus as well as great expectations for the next year attached to the iWatch, the last thing they wanted was for someone to ruin the year for them and that’s exactly what has happened. Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) was hacked into.

These are China backed hackers, hacking into the Chinese user market. They have successfully gained access to customer’s usernames, passwords and personal data stored in the cloud. This has raised a red flag among the Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) officials.

On Wednesday, a meeting took place between Tim Cook, the Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) chief executive and the top Chinese officials, as to how to handle this breech and prevent further user data being compromised. The problem came into light after a Chinese web monitoring group issued a report that Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) users in China have been subjected to a widespread attack on their privacy. The hackers gained access to their private data stored in the iCloud. The group made further allegations on the Chinese government to be playing a role in the hack. The accusation was met with strong opposition by the government. Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) hasn’t made any public statement addressing the matter. This matter could raise tensions between China and America who already are in a cyber-security battle. Not long ago, Americans blamed Chinese for production of unsafe and vulnerable technologies, making it easy for spies to get a hold of private information. China has made similar accusations towards America, in response, cautioning its top officials against using Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) devices.

The matter was exposed when multiple users received warning messages and the issue was raised on an online forum. IT professionals were bought in to confirm the hack. They also reported that it was quite a sophisticated piece of code and was set up on a large scale; hence they fear that there might be a possibility of government involvement.

This comes at a sensitive time for Apple (NASDAQ:APPL), as they just dealt with the iCloud celebrity accounts hack scandal. That attack was at a much smaller scale as only a few people were affected. But this seems to be an entirely different story, as it’s a matter on a much bigger level. China already has unpleasant history with Apple (NASDAQ:APPL), after certain Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) devices were banned in the country and the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus launch were delayed.

Cook and Ma Kai, the vice premier, met to discuss protection of user information and strengthening coordination within the communication field. In an immediate response, Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) has rerouted user data to overcome the hack. No further plan of action was disclosed by the Apple (NASDAQ:APPL) officials as to how this matter will be controlled. However, the company has released an iCloud security report on its site that instructs on ways to avoid a hack. The company has made promises to show full commitment in protecting customer privacy and security.