Melbourne Teen Pleads Guilty to Hacking Apple Servers and Accessing Customer Accounts [Updated]

[rtomyj]

I love all these posts praising the criminal and the crime, If a 16 year old held a bank up at gunpoint and stole your information would you praise them then too? I mean you must do if you hold criminals in such high esteem....

Don’t worry, I’m sure the organised gangs they sell your stolen data on to put it to good use.

You’re seriously comparing a murderer to a hacker? Just an FYI: most times a system HAS to get hacked first so people can know the exploit and fix it. Software is getting very pop culture-y but the knowledge isn’t catching up with the masses. Software is complex. If an app can be broken by a new software imagine how complicated an OS is? Or servers. Apple shouldn’t get a pass but this kid should definitely get a grant from Apple IF all he was doing was hacking.

 

[now i see it]

If a teenage boy can break into Apple servers using a laptop in his bedroom, one can only imagine the capabilities of a nation state with unlimited budget and resources.

 

[FFR]

Does anyone know what was accessed?

 

[loby]

No. This is unacceptable. Apple advertised iCloud as secure. Clearly it’s not.

No it is not secure. Hacking can come from within.

Some of Apple’s storage needs are also sub-contracted out I heard. (I heard they use Amazon servers- I could be wrong).

Anyone know where you report possible hacking to Apple? I had a document on my cloud hacked and it could be an inside job. Someone wrote a comment in my document that could only be accessed from an administrator at Apple or their sub-contracted company.

How do I know this happened? One, the way the comment was written. Two, I am the only one who has access to my account (I keep all devices with me since I travel for work). I go to countries that really don’t speak English. Three: my account was not hacked from outside (I use to be in security and a network admin. So i know how the game is played internally).

Anyone know the email address to Apple security so I report this type of activity?

Thanks.

 

[bruinsrme]

Don’t be ridiculous. This is no ordinary kid. These hackteens are wicked intelligent. Companies like apple spend a fortune on security, but there is always a way in. It’s only a question of how hard.

I can’t help but wonder; how long did apple know he was hacking in and were they watching him. Also, did Apple toy with the kid but changing protocols and seeing how he worked around them.

Can’t believe any of these large firms simply identify the hack and report it without taking the opportunity to learn more.

 

[jonnyb098]

No. This is unacceptable. Apple advertised iCloud as secure. Clearly it’s not.

If you don't think that anything can be hackable (NEWS FLASH: EVERYTHING IS HACKABLE), then get off technology.

 

[mwd25]

Pay attention, if a thief steals a key to a safety deposit box cause you left it around in a public place then gains access to the bank (I know now ID is demanded etc.) then it isn't the bank's fault but yours. If the thief manages to crack the safe then the bank is at fault. In both cases the thief is going to jail and no one here is praising the hacker.

The Hollywood folks who sued wanted to cover their own neglect.

Just leave the bank out. A better analogy would be that you leave your keys sitting on a bench at the gym. Someone takes keys, goes to your house, lets themselves in. Now they see a safe there. So just for kicks they try the combination.....1-2-3......and to their amazement, it pops open. They help themselves to everything inside safe.
The homeowner now screams that the safe he bought sucks, this safe company is negligent!!!! They make a safe that is far too easy for criminals to "break into." I demand my money back and all the money lost for the theft of the contents of safe. should he be successful in a lawsuit to sue the safe company for their awful security safe????
Ummmm, no.

 

[Davidglenn]

At 16 the school child knows right from wrong. They knew they were breaking the law. Now caught hopefully they can now be taught to change their morals. That they can use their great talent to block the security holes they found. Hopefully go onto be productive for society.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Clearly has talent. Hopefully in the future he can use it for good

no no no ...

Apple ... HIRE HIM!!~!!!

 

[mwd25]

And yes to pull this kind of thing off you have to be pretty intelligent, e.g.: https://techcrunch.com/2011/08/26/apple-hires-iphone-hacker-nicholas-allegra-comex/

Except.......he didnt "pull it off" in fact he did the exact opposite of pulling it off. And speaking to how hyper intelligent and smart this kid was,its not that hard. Nor is the majority of criminal activity. Anyone can go into WalMart and shoplift some clothes, anyone can go into a bank and produce a note demanding money. The thing that takes talent is getting away with it. It means nothing if you get caught and most of the time people get caught is because they do something stupid. Guess what, he got caught.

 

[StellarVixen]

I think we need more info on how did this exactly happen.

If a 16 year old found a way to exploit some kind of weakness, and hack the Apple's servers, then that is embarrassing. Especially for a company who is "all about security".

apolloa is a troll most of the time, but he is right on this one.

 

[linkmaster02]

Pay attention, if a thief steals a key to a safety deposit box cause you left it around in a public place then gains access to the bank (I know now ID is demanded etc.) then it isn't the bank's fault but yours. If the thief manages to crack the safe then the bank is at fault. In both cases the thief is going to jail and no one here is praising the hacker.

The Hollywood folks who sued wanted to cover their own neglect.

Technically in both cases it's the theif's fault.

 

[decafjava]

I think we need more info on how did this exactly happen.

If a 16 year old found a way to exploit some kind of weakness, and hack the Apple's servers, then that is embarrassing. Especially for a company who is "all about security".

apolloa is a troll most of the time, but he is right on this one.

About the hack in the article yes, at least it's worrying, about the "fappening" iCloud celeb hack ummmm no.

 

[FFR]

About the hack in the article yes, at least it's worrying, about the "fappening" iCloud celeb hack ummmm no.

Both iCloud and gmail were targeted in the celeb hack.

The Apple haters never seem to mention that gmail was also compromised.

Hmmm...

 

[Winni]

Hmm last time I checked my bank and Amazon have not been hacked yet.. these kids are not ‘wicked intelligent’ they are criminals, thief’s that steal on mass and then sell the information on, or use it for blackmail, they pick in weak systems, they should be thrown in jail for life, send a message to Therese idiot criminals.

You're still talking about KIDS there, so your demand to "throw them in jail for life" is absolutely unreasonable; actually it is unreasonable to a point where we it is almost insane. Remember that you're talking about CHILDREN there that only possess very limited accountability for what they do -- and this kid whose life you want to destroy did not kill or injure ANYBODY. He's not Al Capone or Pablo Escobar. Hell, he's not even Donald Trump. He's just a teenage kid who wanted to test his own limits and maybe impress a girl somewhere with his hacking skills -- or impress Apple and have that weird dream of getting hired because he's so damn good at what he does. These things have actually happened in the past, believe it or not -- in the past, some hackers actually got hired by the companies they broke in to. So it's not in the realm of fantasy.

 

[keysofanxiety]

I think we need more info on how did this exactly happen.

If a 16 year old found a way to exploit some kind of weakness, and hack the Apple's servers, then that is embarrassing. Especially for a company who is "all about security".

apolloa is a troll most of the time, but he is right on this one.

Except if it was phishing and not an actual hack. People far too often get the two mixed up when they're completely different. I agree we need more information.

Apolloa, as ever, has grabbed the pitchfork with the mouth-watering prospect of anti-Apple rhetoric and assumed the worst without any facts. That doesn't make them right, just consistent with negative comments on every single article.

I'll reserve judgement until I have further information, though my first suspicion is that it wasn't an actual "hack".

 

[Amazing Iceman]

This incident may be remembered as: "I know what you did last Summer".

Too bad such great talent gets wasted by using it for criminal activity.

 

[BWhaler]

So if some kid can get into Apple’s servers, how simple is it for the Russians and Chinese government backed hackers? Done by 10am tea?

 

[benlukes]

Don’t be ridiculous. This is no ordinary kid. These hackteens are wicked intelligent. Companies like apple spend a fortune on security, but there is always a way in. It’s only a question of how hard.

It’s not ridiculous. If a teen working largely alone can hack Apple, then don’t you think a team of people with nefarious motives could pull it off? And Apple pushes its security big time.

 

[BWhaler]

This incident may be remembered as: "I know what you did last Summer".

Too bad such great talent gets wasted by using it for criminal activity.

Steve and Wox started same way, hacking phone network for free calls. Who knows what this kid may accomplish.

 

[benlukes]

The boy is said to have attempted to hide his identity using a number of methods including "computerized tunnels", a system which had "worked flawlessly" until the teen was caught.​

Pretty comical paragraph there...

 

[pipis2010]

A Melbourne schoolboy has pleaded guilty to hacking into Apple's secure network after the company notified authorities of the intrusion (via The Age).

The teen, who can't be named for legal reasons, appeared at an Australian Children's Court on Thursday facing allegations of hacking into Apple's servers on multiple occasions.

Details of the case are still sketchy, but the boy's hacking is said to have begun at the age of 16, and included downloading tens of gigabytes of secure files and accessing "authorized keys" that grant login access to users.

The boy is said to have attempted to hide his identity using a number of methods including "computerized tunnels", a system which had "worked flawlessly" until the teen was caught.

That chain of events began when Apple apparently detected the unauthorized access and blocked the source of the intrusions. It subsequently notified the FBI, which passed on the information to the Australian Federal Police, resulting in a warrant being executed at the family home last year.

Prosecutors said the raid turned up a "litany of hacking files" on a computer laptop and hard drive, as well as a mobile phone with an IP address that matched the source of the intrusions.

The boy's lawyer said the teen was a fan of the company and had "dreamed of" working for Apple. His lawyer also asked the magistrate's court not to disclose some of the details of the case because the boy is well-known in the hacking community and it could put him at risk.

The magistrate's court acknowledged the guilty plea, and the case has been adjourned until next month for sentencing.

Article Link: Melbourne Teen Pleads Guilty to Hacking Apple Servers and Accessing Customer Accounts

HIRE HIM NOW!!! Or wait until he’s 18 and hire him then. Or any smart security firm or Google/Microsoft should hire him on the spot.

 

[StellarVixen]

Except if it was phishing and not an actual hack. People far too often get the two mixed up when they're completely different. I agree we need more information.

Apolloa, as ever, has grabbed the pitchfork with the mouth-watering prospect of anti-Apple rhetoric and assumed the worst without any facts. That doesn't make them right, just consistent with negative comments on every single article.

I'll reserve judgement until I have further information, though my first suspicion is that it wasn't an actual "hack".

That's why I said that we need more information.

 

[pipis2010]

What year is this, 1983?
A 16 year old can breach into the system made by PhD carrying people who have worked for decades in the IT security field? Like 6 years ago this kid was watching cartoons, how can he gain enough knowledge to breach in the only $1T company in the world?

I think it just proves that nothing is unhackable , or Apple isn’t investing as much as we would have thought on security...

 

[Burningtime]

No. This is unacceptable. Apple advertised iCloud as secure. Clearly it’s not.

LOL. If you buy the most secure vault in the world for your money but you don't close the door properly are you gonna blame the vault?