Now iHackers are Targeting the US
+ Australians Told to Change their iCloud Passwords after Cyber Attack
- Australian Apple users have been hacked by 'Oleg Pliss' who is demanding US$100 for users to woken early Tuesday to alert their device had been hacked
- Attack has spread overseas with reports of U.S. users being hacked
The Apple hackers targeting Australian users over the last few days have spread their operation abroad with the first accounts of attacks in the U.S.
Reports started surfacing on Tuesday of a hacker calling himself 'Oleg Pliss' locking Australian Apple users out of their devices and then demanding a ransom of between US$50 and US$100 for the device to be unlocked.
The cyber-attack seems to have spread across the ocean, with U.S. users reporting on Apple support threads they have also received ransom notifications from 'Oleg Pliss'.
iJacked: Apple users in Austrlia began reporting their phones had been locked and held to ransom early on Tuesday morning
The Sydney Morning Herald reporting that one user wrote on an Apple support thread: 'I'm in the US. Never been to Australia. Hacked last night.'
It's unclear how the hackers gained access to the devices, while some users are pointing to a breach of their iCloud accounts, Apple insists iCloud was not compromised.
It has also been suggested that the breach was the result of a password scam, resulting from people using the same password for multiple accounts.
Melbourne iPad owner 'veritylikestea' posted to an Apple support forum that her iPad 'suddenly locked itself' on Tuesday morning.
'There was a message on the screen ... saying that my device(s) had been hacked by Oleg Pliss,' she told Australian Associated Press.
The message demanded she pay US$100 (AU$108.20) through PayPal for her device to be unlocked.
Staying tight-lipped:
Apple are keeping quiet on the security breach, despite mounting concern
and anger on their own online support forum and technology website Whirlpool
Apple released a statement about the incident.
'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,' it read.
On Tuesday the Australian Government's Stay Smart Online initiative offered a statement saying that 'available information is limited' but they urged people to change their Apple ID password as soon as possible, even if they have not been targeted as a precaution.
They also instructed people not to pay the ransom.
The NSW Police also issued a 'scam alert' and urged Apple users to change their passwords.
Oleg Pliss is likely a pseudonym, a real Oleg Pliss is a software engines at Oracle, he was contacted by the Sydney Morning Herald and confirmed that he had never hacked an Apple device.
Reports are emerging of U.S. Apple users who have been locked out of their devices and have received ransom notices from Oleg Pliss
The NSW Police also issued a 'scam alert' and urged Apple users to change their passwords.
Oleg Pliss is likely a pseudonym, a real Oleg Pliss is a software engines at Oracle, he was contacted by the Sydney Morning Herald and confirmed that he had never hacked an Apple device.
MailOnline sought comment from Apple, Optus and Telstra.