A 22-year-old attempted to extort Apple with a hack. Now he is an employee of a financial fraud protection firm.
In 2019, an expert found a serious security vulnerability in the iPhone operating system. With this, the 22-year-old attempted to extort Apple. Today, the expert is an employee of a security company.
Hacker demands $75,000 for the information
The 22-year-old found a security gap that would have allowed him to hack into the systems of millions of iPhones and iPads worldwide. With this knowledge, he then attempted to extort the company Apple.
The British National Crime Agency (NCA) stated that this person was the leader of “The Turkish Family,” a hacker group, and he had been tasked with contacting and subsequently blackmailing Apple.
- In his demands, he wanted either $75,000 or 100,000 iTunes gift cards.
- Later, he raised his demands to $100,000 in cash.
However, Apple ignored the demands and instead contacted the intelligence agency. The company also filed a lawsuit for extortion against the perpetrator.
Hacker arrested, security firm hires him as director
What was the outcome? Apple did not pay, and the hacker was arrested. In the end, he received “only” a two-year prison sentence and 300 hours of unpaid work. Additionally, there was an electronic curfew intended to prevent him from accessing online activities. His “The Turkish Family” was disbanded after his arrest.
Colleagues from Applesfera report that in July 2023 a company named “OPAC Global” paid the hacker’s fine and supposedly hired the perpetrator as a director. The company fights international financial fraud and wanted to have the expert within their ranks.
It gets even younger: Several major tech companies, including Nvidia and Microsoft, have been plagued by a hacker group called Lapsus$, allegedly led by a 16-year-old who still lives with his mother. Read the full story on MeinMMO: 16-year-old lives with Mom, allegedly hacks the biggest tech giants in the world
