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Hackers Threaten to Wipe Millions of iPhones


Monroe

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They may have access to 300 million Apple accounts ...

http://bgr.com/2017/03/22/apple-iphone-and-icloud-accounts-hacked/

Hackers claim to have breached hundreds of millions of Apple accounts

Chris Smith

March 22nd, 2017 at 11:35 AM

Apple’s iPhones and Apple IDs are a tough nut to crack for hackers, but it’s not be impossible. At least that’s what a group of hackers seem to suggest, as they’re currently attempting to blackmail Apple for up to $100,000 before they start remotely wiping millions of iPhones. Can they actually do it? Should you be worried? It’s unclear at this point.

The hackers apparently engaged in conversations with the media to force Apple’s hand. The Turkish Crime Family hacker group, which spoke to Motherboard, want either $75,000 in Bitcoin or Ethereum, or $100,000 worth of iTunes gift cards.

“I just want my money and thought this would be an interesting report that a lot of Apple customers would be interested in reading and hearing,” one of the hackers said.

Apparently, the hackers have been in contact with Apple’s security team for quite a while now. They even posted a video on YouTube to prove they have actual access to iCloud accounts, access which can be used to remotely wipe iPhones.

Apple, understandably, doesn’t appear to be willing to pay up the ransom. “We firstly kindly request you to remove the video that you have uploaded on your YouTube channel as it’s seeking unwanted attention, second of all we would like you to know that we do not reward cyber criminals for breaking the law,” a screenshot of a message purportedly coming from an Apple security team member reads.

The hackers say they have access to more than 300 million Apple email accounts, including @icloud and @me domains. The number is the source of some confusion though, because a different hacker from the group claimed they had 559 million accounts in all. They have not explained how they gained access to Apple ID credentials.

The hackers are threatening to move forward with remotely wiping Apple devices on April 7th, unless Apple pays up. Apple hasn’t publicly commented on the matter at this point. On the off-chance that the hackers are indeed holding access to millions of iCloud accounts, you might consider changing your password to protect your Apple ID.

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Sounds like people may be forced to start having face to face interactions with each other again. Oh the horror it would be for so many people. Truthfully, I'd just laugh. I grow ever so tired of the smartphone obsession.

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I don't know if there's any truth to the story ... I thought it was strange the hackers were only demanding $100,000 from Apple. I would have thought there would be a few more '0s' on that amount.

I am reading that Apple is denying any accounts have been hacked but maybe passwords should still be changed ... so the new article says.

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/03/23/apple-denied-massive-icloud-hack-but-should-still-change-your-password.html

Apple denied the massive iCloud hack (but you should still change your password)

By Chris Smith

Published March 23, 2017

A hacker group claiming to have access to hundreds of millions of iCloud accounts threatened to remotely wipe iPhones associated to these accounts unless Apple pays a ransom amounting to up to $100,000 in cryptocurrency or iTunes gift cards. Just as we suspected at the time, Apple has now confirmed that its servers were not breached. But that doesn't change the fact that some hackers out there believe they can remotely wipe iPhones linked to certain Apple IDs so it's time to change passwords again.

"There have not been any breaches in any of Apple's systems including iCloud and Apple ID," a company spokesperson told Fortune. "The alleged list of email addresses and passwords appears to have been obtained from previously compromised third-party services."

Apple did not confirm the authenticity of the data the Turkish Crime Family says it has, as the report notes. A person familiar with the email accounts and passwords contained in that data set says it matched the LinkedIn breach from 2012 when hackers grabbed information tied to more than 100 million accounts.

The LinkedIn hack was only revealed last year, but that's enough of a reason to change your passwords, especially if you haven't done it since then -- and especially if you use the same password for several different accounts, including the Apple ID you use on your iPhone.

Apple, meanwhile, is "actively monitoring to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts and are working with law enforcement to identify the criminals involved," the same spokesperson said. "To protect against these type of attacks, we always recommend that users always use strong passwords, not use those same passwords across sites and turn on two-factor authentication."

The company says it has taken measures according to "standard procedure," without elaborating on what's been done.

Edited by monroe
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  • 5 weeks later...
On 4/23/2017 at 9:38 PM, AaronK33 said:

That's very bad news if all iPhones are hacked. I am even confused how is this possible?

WHo has power to hack my grannies iphone 3g which has no internet connection ?

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