Apple Says No Breaches in Response to Hackers’ Threat to Wipe Millions of iPhones

A group of hackers gave an ultimatum to Apple yesterday: pay $75,000 in Bitcoin or Ethereum, or $100,000 in iTunes Gift Cards by April 19, or they will remotely wipe an alleged 559 million Apple IDs, which could in fact erase iPhones, iPads and other devices.

Screenshot 2017 03 23 12 36 03

Apple responded to the threat from the so-called ‘Turkish Crime Family’, in a statement to Fortune, saying if the hack was indeed real—it didn’t come though any hack of Apple:

“There have not been any breaches in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud and Apple ID,” the spokesperson said. “The alleged list of email addresses and passwords appears to have been obtained from previously compromised third-party services.”

A source told Fortune most of the leaked email accounts and passwords data matches a recent breach from LinkedIn, which could be one theory in where they are from.

The Apple spokesperson continued to say they are “actively monitoring to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts and are working with law enforcement to identify the criminals involved. To protect against these type of attacks, we always recommend that users always use strong passwords, not use those same passwords across sites and turn on two-factor authentication.”

If you’re paranoid about this hacker group and their threat, you could change your password right away.

Earlier today, we told you about some poorly made Apple phishing emails Canadians have been receiving. Again, it’s best to enable two-factor authentication with your Apple ID, to protect yourself. Click here to learn how to do it.

P.S. - Like our news? Support the site with a coffee/beer. Or shop with our Amazon link. We use affiliate links when possible--thank you for supporting independent media.