CUPERTINO, Kalifornia (PNN) - March 22, 2017 - It looks like the CIA isn’t the only organization capable of taking over your phone.
Hackers claiming to have compromised at least 300 million Apple account ID’s and passwords say they will initiate a complete wipe of iPhones and iClouds if the Cupertino, Kalifornia based technology company doesn’t pay them a ransom.
The group, which goes by the name Turkish Crime Family, says Apple has until April 7 to come up with either $75,000 in BitCoin or $100,000 in iTunes gift cards.
The group posted a YouTube video proving they have compromised the credentials of millions of iCloud accounts, which could then be used to wipe an iPhone remotely and potentially lock users out of critical phone features.
The hacker appears to access an elderly woman’s iCloud account, which includes backed-up photos, and the ability to remotely wipe the device.
“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 message allegedly from a member of Apple’s security team reads.
According to one of the emails in the accessed account, the hackers claim to have access to over 300 million Apple email accounts, including those that use @icloud and @me domains. The hackers did not provide any of the supposedly stolen iCloud accounts to verify this claim.
As of this writing it appears that Apple is refusing to pay any ransom.
But the hacking team says refusal to do so will lead to serious consequences for tens of millions of iPhone users and the date is rapidly approaching.
Posting directly to their Twitter page, the Turkish Crime Family warns April 7 will be Apple’s digital doomsday.
However, some loopholes can be seen in the hacker’s story. According to reports, one of the group’s members mentioned that the number of iCloud accounts in their control are 300 million, but another representative of the group claimed the total number of compromised accounts are 559 million. Moreover, according to their tweet, the number of iCloud accounts is 200 million, clearly showing something is fishy or there is miscommunication within the group.
Apple has not yet confirmed the hack and his remained quiet about its potential implications.
But there is an easy solution iPhone and iCloud users can implement right now to stop any potential attacks on their devices dead in its tracks.
On the chance that the hackers are indeed holding access to millions of iCloud accounts, you might consider changing your password to protect your Apple ID.
Better safe than sorry. If you utilize Apple devices change your password immediately, just in case.