Draft:2017 Apple iCloud Extortion Claim
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In March 2017, a hacker group calling itself the Turkish Crime Family claimed it had access to millions of Apple iCloud accounts. The group threatened to remotely wipe iPhones and iPads linked to those accounts unless Apple paid a ransom of USD 75,000 in cryptocurrency or USD 100,000 in iTunes gift cards.[1][2][3]
Apple denied that its servers had been breached, stating the credentials came from third-party data leaks. Security researchers later confirmed that some of the stolen credentials were valid but outdated. The extortion attempt did not result in a mass device wipe. In 2019, British national Kerem Albayrak, associated with the claims, was arrested and sentenced for blackmail and computer misuse[4]
Legal Consequences
[edit]In March 2019, British authorities arrested 22-year-old Kerem Albayrak in north London in connection with the extortion attempt. He admitted to being part of the group that contacted Apple and to uploading videos online to promote the threats. He was charged with blackmail and two counts under the UK Computer Misuse Act.[5]
In December 2019, Kerem Albayrak pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court. He was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, ordered to complete 300 hours of unpaid work, and placed under a six-month electronic curfew.[6] The court took into account his lack of prior criminal history but stressed the seriousness of the blackmail attempt.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ "Apple iCloud accounts under hostage? Here's what you need to know". The Indian Express. 2017-03-27. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ Winder, Davey (2019-12-22). "Apple 'Hacker' Held 250 Million iPhones Ransom For $100,000 In Gift Cards". Forbes. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ Collins, Tim (2017-03-24). "Apple hack cyber criminals raise their ransom to $700k". Daily Mail Online. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ Campbell, Mikey (2017-03-24). "Report verifies some iCloud credentials held by hacker group as valid". AppleInsider. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ Paganini, Pierluigi (2019-12-22). "UK authorities sentenced hacker who blackmailed Apple for $100,000". Security Affairs. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ Hardwick, Tim (2019-12-23). "'Turkish Crime Family' Hacker Pleads Guilty to Blackmailing Apple". MacRumors. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
- ^ "Apple 'hacker' spared jail over iCloud blackmail". BBC Home. 2019-12-27. Retrieved 2025-09-25.
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