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Hackers Threaten To Remote Wipe 300M iPhones Unless Apple Pays 71 Bitcoin Ransom
Bitcoin seems to be the currency of choice when it comes to demanding ransoms, and that is because culprits demanding payment can hide behind a pseudonym (Bitcoin itself is not actually anonymous). So it is no surprise that a hacking organization has instructed Apple to fork over a Bitcoin ransom in exchange for not leaking a cache of iCloud and other Apple email accounts belonging to hundreds of millions of iPhone owners.
The hackers call themselves the "Turkish Crime Family." In addition to accepting Bitcoin, the group has told Apple it would also be fine with being paid in Ethereum, which is another form of crypto-currency that is gaining in popularity. Either way, the group wants the equivalent of $75,000. Alternately the hackers would also settle for $100,000 worth of iTunes gift cards, presumably to sell rather than use themselves.
It is not clear if Apple is willing to play ball here, though the hackers did share with Motherboard an email from a supposed Apple employee asking if the group would be willing to provide a sample of the data set. The return path of the email points to an email address with the @apple.com domain.
"We first 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 supposedly from Apple's security team reads.
The hacking group responded to Apple's email with a threat to reset iCloud accounts and remotely wipe more than 300 million compromised iPhone devices, unless Apple pays its ransom demand by April 7.
The hackers call themselves the "Turkish Crime Family." In addition to accepting Bitcoin, the group has told Apple it would also be fine with being paid in Ethereum, which is another form of crypto-currency that is gaining in popularity. Either way, the group wants the equivalent of $75,000. Alternately the hackers would also settle for $100,000 worth of iTunes gift cards, presumably to sell rather than use themselves.
It is not clear if Apple is willing to play ball here, though the hackers did share with Motherboard an email from a supposed Apple employee asking if the group would be willing to provide a sample of the data set. The return path of the email points to an email address with the @apple.com domain.
"We first 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 supposedly from Apple's security team reads.
The hacking group responded to Apple's email with a threat to reset iCloud accounts and remotely wipe more than 300 million compromised iPhone devices, unless Apple pays its ransom demand by April 7.
