April 28 update: on the dark web, no more traces of the REvil threat. See details at the end of the article.
Update April 23: Apple Insider was able to get their hands on several documents from the hacker group. See details at the end of the article.
The companyQuanta- which assembles MacBooks in Taiwan - has just been the victim of a major data leak, containing secret information on Apple computers. This time, it is not a question of rumors spread here and there by analysts or YouTubers but rather of a malicious act. The instigators of this criminal operation are demanding fifty million dollars (i.e. more than 41M converted into euros) from Cupertino.
The latter are currently in possession of plans precisely describing the internal structure of theiMac with M1 processor unveiled Tuesday evening, but not only that. Because if these images have already been published, others this time detailing portable machines that have not yet seen the light of day are currently playing the game ofblackmail.
Of theblack hatswell known
The organizers of this major incident for Apple are not their first attempt. We have in fact already identified them behind the success of aransomwareof size having targeted no less than the former president of the United States Donald Trump andAmerican singer Lady Gaga. If the first seemed to have given in, Quanta for his part would not have deigned to respond positively to the thieves' request.
It is in any case impossible to know whether or not they will keep their promise not to reveal the drawings in their possession, if a transaction ultimately takes place. It is also difficult to imagine what decision Tim Cook and his teams will choose to make regarding this potential payment.
Apple's communications strategy undermined
At the Californian company, however, security is today the key word in many marketing materials aimed at consumers. The promise ofconfidentialityof iPhone is not just a simple selling point: the updates of iOS 14 in favor of the protection of private life regularly prove this.
In the HomePod mini smart speaker for example,the proprietary Sencure Enclave chipis responsible for defending the device against hypothetical malicious intrusions into its system. But no technology is infallible, even if in the current situation it is not really Apple at fault but rather its Asian service provider.
April 23 update: revelations
Our colleagues fromApple Insideret9to5Macwere able to get their hands on documents supposedly stolen by REvil from Quanta Computer. These present several new Apple machines, which would therefore be planned for release within a few months or a few years.
In particular, there is a new MacBook Pro in the lot with the following features:
- presence of an HDMI port
- presence of a port for SD cards
- presence of MagSafe connectivity for charging
- Multiple Thunderbolt ports (2 on one side, 1 on the other)
Additionally, a document shows a MacBook Pro without Touch Bar.
The diagrams in any case refer to devices with the code names J314 and J316, which correspond, according to information published by Bloomberg last January, to the following machines:MacBook Pro 14″etMacBook Pro 16″respectively. They are dated March 2021.
REvil's publications do not announce anything new so far. This is mainly about confirming rumors and analyst reports that we have already heard. It is not certain at this stage whether Apple is really worried by the first actions of the hacker group. Despite everything, the threat is undoubtedly taken seriously. It remains to be seen what happens next, whether there are additional publications of new secret documents from Apple, or not. If the threat disappears, we will obviously not know if the Californian giant has decided to pay the ransom.
April 28 update: end of story?
The pirate group apparentlyremoved Apple documents in its possession from the dark webas well as any reference to his blackmail operation. However, initially, REvil had planned to publish, every day, from April 20 to May 1, new secret documents about technologies developed by the Californian giant. If we can then think that this was a stunt on the part of REvil, you should know that these pirates are known to have carried out their threats in the past.
And the withdrawal of documents carried out by REvil does not signify the end of the operation. In reality, as revealedour colleagues from BleepingComputer, Quanta, Apple's subcontractor, was reportedly contacted by the hackers for an update on the ransom conditions. Instead of the May 1 deadline, the ransom can be paid until May 7. And the amount of the latter also changes:it is no longer a question of 41 million euros, but a little less than 17 million now.
In the event of non-compliance with the instructions, REvil announced that it was ready to publish new diagrams, one of which would concern an iPad and others would display new Apple logos.
Let's now wait for the rest of this story: will the ransom be paid on time or will we be entitled to new publications of secret Apple documents?
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By : Keleops AG
