While the Tame Apple Press is doing its best to prove that Android and Microsoft Windows PCs were also targeted in a campaign and its security is not worse than anyone else, some press are actually saying "look we spend shedloads of cash on your promises of security and you are now saying we would could have saved the money and bought an Android for all the good it did us".

Gordon Kelly at Forbes even started quoting my old Apple statements by refering to Apple as "reassuringly expensive" indicating that Forbes is about 11 years behind in presenting Apple warnings.

The attack appears to have tried to infect the computers and smartphones of the Uighur ethnic group in China. That community has long been targeted by the Chinese government, in particular in the Xinjiang region, where surveillance is pervasive.

Google's and Microsoft's operating systems were targeted via the same websites that launched the iPhone hacks, according to the sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The attacks appear to form part of a mass surveillance operation taking place on Uighur civilians, who've faced various forms of persecution in Xinjiang. Surveillance cameras are scattered across the region and facial recognition is prevalent.

As the code involved in the attack is unpicked it is getting harder to see how Apple, or the security industry did not ever spot it. Especially as the code's designers made so many basic security errors which should have lit up any phone with adequate security.