iPhones frozen by hackers demanding ransom
iPhones frozen by hackers demanding ransom
People around the world have found their iPads and
iPhones frozen by hackers who are demanding cash ransoms to unlock their
devices
By Matthew Sparkes
11:13AM BST 27 May 2014
Owners of iPhones and iPads have been targeted by a
hacker who is freezing iOS devices and demanding a ransom of up to £55 to
unlock them.
The majority of the attacks have taken place in Australia
although there are also reports of Britons being affected.
It appears that the hacker, who goes by the name Oleg
Pliss, has managed to exploit the Find My iPhone feature which can track and
remotely lock stolen devices.
Users have been told to send ransoms of between $50 and
$100 Australian dollars (up to £55) to a PayPal account in order to have their
devices unlocked.
Those affected have taken to Apple's support forums to
seek help. One user, veritylikestea from Melbourne, said: "I was using my
iPad a short while ago when suddenly it locked itself.
"I went to check my phone and there was a message on
the screen (it's still there) saying that my device(s) had been hacked by 'Oleg
Pliss' and he/she/they demanded $100 USD/EUR (sent by paypal to
lock404(at)hotmail.com) to return them to me.
"I have no idea how this has happened. I am not
aware of having been exposed to malware or anything else, although i did
recently purchase some new apps - perhaps one of these has something to do with
it? I don't know."
Another user, Werewabbit, said: "I live in the UK
and this has also happened to me yesterday. Very worrying. And not a peep from
Apple yet. I have managed to change all my account details and passwords, but
just feels worrying."
An Australian government website, Stay Smart Online, has
told affected users not to pay the ransom.
"Currently there is only speculation about how the
attacks have been carried out. Apple has not yet responded officially," it
says.
"With the possibility that this attack is linked to
your ‘Apple ID’, affected users are advised to change your Apple ID password as
soon as possible.
"It is not confirmed if or how these Apple IDs and
passwords were accessed, but suggestions include that hackers may be simply
reusing information they may have discovered during a breach of other online
services. Unfortunately, many people still commonly reuse the same password for
many of their online accounts. "
We contacted Apple but was told that the company would
not be commenting on the issue.
David Emm, from security firm Kaspersky Lab, said:
"It seems likely that cybercriminals gained access to Apple ID
credentials, for example by using phishing e-mails targeting Apple IDs.
"Such scams have been around for years. By using the
credentials to access an Apple iCloud account, the attackers can enable the
'Find My iPhone' service - this is not only able to locate a lost or stolen
device, but also to set a passcode preventing third parties from accessing the
personal data stored on the smartphone.
"This is clearly a form of ransomware, previously
only seen on PC and, recently, on Android devices - although in these cases
malware was used to trigger this behaviour. This campaign is further proof that
cybercriminals are adopting criminal business models developed for the PC,
applying them to new areas and fine-tuning their methods."
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