News

Apple to pay ransom or hackers may delete iPhones and iCloud accounts

Wednesday 22 March 2017 08:08 CET | News

A group of hackers, who are calling themselves the “Turkish Crime Family”, have threated to remotely delete millions of iPhones and iCloud accounts, unless Apple agrees to pay a ransom by April 7th.

The cybercriminals are demanding the tech company pay USD 75,000 ransom, in either the Bitcoin or Ethereum, or hand over USD 100,000 worth of iTunes gift cards.

One of the hackers shared screenshots of emails that had allegedly been exchanged with Apple, including one where a member of Apple’s security team asked if the group would be willing to share a sample of the stolen data, Hot for Security blog states.

Furthermore, Apple’s security team also requested that a YouTube video be removed of an unnamed member of the gang using stolen credentials to access an elderly woman’s iCloud account and view photos that had previously been backed up online, the online publication continues.

Still, it is not evident whether the email exchanges between the hackers and Apple are real or faked, and whether Apple users are at risk, the online publication concludes. However, companies should do everything in their power to protect their customers and prevent criminals from profiting from extortion.


Free Headlines in your E-mail

Every day we send out a free e-mail with the most important headlines of the last 24 hours.

Subscribe now

Keywords: iTunes, Apple, ransomware, Bitcoin, Ethereum, iPhones, iCloud, accounts, data, hackers, security, fraud prevention
Categories: Fraud & Financial Crime
Companies:
Countries: World
This article is part of category

Fraud & Financial Crime






Industry Events