Hackers Threaten to Remotely Wipe iPhones Unless Apple Pays Ransom

A group of hackers claims to have compromised millions of iCloud account and is threatening to remotely wipe iPhones unless Apple pays a ransom, reports Motherboard.

The hackers who call themselves 'Turkish Crime Family' are demanding $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 told Motherboard.

Screenshots of alleged messages between the group and Apple's security team were shared with the site, as was access to an email account purportedly used to communicate with Apple.


The emails appear to show Apple asking for evidence of the hack. "Are you willing to share a sample of the data set?"

The hackers also uploaded a video that allegedly shows them logging into stolen accounts including an elderly woman's iCloud account which contained backed-up photos and the ability to remotely wipe her device.

The hackers claim Apple responded to the video saying, "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."

Apple reportedly said archived communications with the hacker would be sent to the authorities. Now the group is threatening to reset a number of iCloud accounts and remotely wipe devices on April 7th, unless Apple meets their demand.


In one email the hackers claim they have access to over 300 million accounts but another hacker claimed they had 559 million accounts. Motherboard was not able to verify this claim and they were not provided with access to any stolen accounts.

While hackers have gained access to high profile iCloud accounts in the past, 300 - 559 million breached accounts would seem to demand a much higher ransom.

Apple didn't respond to requests for comment.

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