Today in the morning, a number of Australian users of Apple devices (Connected to iCloud) found their devices locked. Really this is a shock-full news.
Customers find their Apple products like phones, tablets, and even laptops and desktops showing a message originating in Apple’s find my device service that states “Device hacked by Oleg Pliss” and the user send US$100 to unlock the device.
Affected users reach on the Apple official forum to discuss more about this, some users also find that along with their iPhone hack—a passcode also has been added and they are unable to restore their iPhone from the Apple’s iCloud, But some of the lucky users did their password change immediately before someone behind the hack change his/her passcode.
One user, holidaying in London, reports being able to take their device into an Apple store, but no solution was found as they appear to have not had a passcode on the device prior to the attack.
According to the reports, the attack was initiated in the early hours of the morning across Australian, one user named ‘deskokat’ reporting that being woken up at 4:30AM with the associated ‘hacked by Oleg Pliss’ message and sounds being played out of their iPad.
“I thought it was the morning alarm. I just signed in with my code, and all seems ok. I then signed in to my powerbook — but as a guest user — VERY grateful I did,” deskokat wrote.
“Message to say I’d been hacked there too, wouldn’t let me sign out without erasing all data for that user. As there was nothing but a couple of expendable files on there, I signed out. And the guest user portal has been erased. I then went into my own (password protected) desktop, no hacking message. Have changed my Apple ID password.”
Users reportedly receiving messages in their hotmail account stating the ‘LOST’ Status applied to their devices.
In the meantime, as per the Apple reports—You can contact Apple care for any help.
At the time of writing, it is not disclosed, How it happened, it is believed that hackers have gained access to the users’ Apple ID credentials, which able hackers to open all the security doors of Apple Devices.
UPDATE: Apple replied to Zdnet about the recent hack attack on Apple Devices in Australia across Australia and New Zealand, and confirmed, its iCloud was not compromised and urges affected users to change their passwords:
In full, Apple said: “Apple takes security very seriously and iCloud was not compromised during this incident. Impacted users should change their Apple ID password as soon as possible and avoid using the same user name and password for multiple services. Any users who need additional help can contact AppleCare or visit their local Apple Retail Store.”
SOURCE: ZDNET