Posted on October 22, 2018 at 1:41 PM
iCloud Hacker Wants $175,000 Ransom to Be Paid In Bitcoin (BTC)
According to new reports, a hacker that attacked Apple’s systems and threatened with iCloud users’ personal data leak is a 21-year-old IT analyst from London, UK. Furthermore, the attacker demands to be paid ransom for stolen data and wants it in Bitcoin and iTune Vouchers.
The hacker was identified as a London-based 21-year-old
The attacker, Karem Albayrak, is also a founder of Verticle Media and Vasinity Digital. Due to the crime of blackmailing and unauthorized hijacking, Albayrak has appeared in London’s Westminster magistrates court. His case is to be heard on November 14 at Southwark Crown Court, and until this date, he was granted bail.
Local news reported that Albayrak recorded a video which shows him accessing users’ accounts on iCloud, and stealing data belonging to millions of service’s customers. Not only that, but he also uploaded this video on YouTube, and demanded to be paid a ransom of $175,000 in total. Additionally, he demanded that the ransom is paid in Bitcoin, or he will sell users’ personal details.
According to reports, he originally demanded only $75,000, but after a while, he doubled his demand. This has increased the ransom to $174,000 which he wants in Bitcoin, as well as an additional $1,000 that he wanted in iTunes vouchers.
Crypto-related hacking attacks can be damaging for everyone
This is yet another example of system hacking, with the difference being that the target was not a cryptocurrency exchange or an ICO. Due to the increased amount of hacking attacks, the police issued a warning to exchanges, stating that ransomware attacks are still a real threat.
More often than not, hackers demand ransoms to be paid in Bitcoin, as it can be difficult to trace these transactions, especially since no third party is involved. Of course, such use cases continue to give cryptocurrencies a bad reputation, as many larger investors who are desperately needed in this industry view it as a method for criminals to achieve their goals.
This is also why the crypto communities around the world are under pressure, while the industry still remains largely unregulated.
As for Apple, this is not the first time that the company had to deal with hacking attacks. In fact, only recently, China accused Apple of having poor security systems, which has allowed hackers to steal grants from multiple accounts. While hacking attacks that use Bitcoin can damage the reputation of the crypto industry, they can also hurt the company that they target. In this case, Apple has a lot to lose if its customers decide that their products and services are not safe.
Fortunately for everyone involved, Kerem Albayrak was tracked down rather quickly. More importantly, he was located before he leaked stolen data.
