“Oleg Pliss” Apple iPhone Hack Spreads To the USA, UK and New Zealand

On the back of yesterday’s news that Australian Apple Devices were getting hijacked through the ‘Find my iPhone’ feature it turns out that the problem is significantly more widespread than first reported. The ‘Oleg Pliss’ ransomware demands a $100/€100 ransom payment in order to unlock your device. The number of users affected by the issue is growing rapidly with a thread about the issue on the Apple forums currently at 23 pages, with 333 replies and 29570 views. The problem is now confirmed to have affected iPhone users across the anglophone world in the USA, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and of course Australia.

The Oleg Pliss ransomware is believed to have been born out of a batch phising email sent to iOS and OS X users. That phishing email is believed to have been used to harvest important account details from Apple account holders which then allowed the cyber criminals to hack many devices and start demanding ransoms in return for device unlocks. Of course it goes without saying that all users affected by the issue are advised not to pay the ransom because there is no guarantee the cyber criminals would unlock your phone, and even if they did your phone is still infected so they could demand another ransom again at any time. Apple recommends that all Apple Account users affected by the issue should change their passwords immediately.

Image courtesy of Engadget