Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Today, Apple responded to Google’s discovery of a major iPhone security flaw with a bristling statement that accused its rival of creating “false impressions.” But Apple did very little to clear up those false impressions, and seems to have created some of its own, as we’ll see by taking a close read.
First, let’s talk about what Apple did confirm. When Google originally published detailed information about the iOS exploits, it conspicuously did not say specifically why they were created or who they were targeted at. Following Google’s disclosure, TechCrunch reported that the exploits were part of a state-sponsored attack that was meant to target China’s minority Uighur population. (The attackers also reportedly targeted Android and…