Apple and Meta (the owner of Facebook and Instagram) transferred data on selected users to hackers in mid-2021, he informs, citing the reports of three informants close to the case. All because of a clever idea used by criminals.
The hackers were impersonating law enforcement agencies
According to the news agency, criminals used email addresses belonging to US law enforcement agencies and sent requests for data to Meta and Apple with their help. Both giants fulfilled the obligation and provided the fraudsters with the home data, telephone numbers and IP addresses of selected customers. However, it is not known how many people we are talking about.
According to the agency, the scam was a success because hackers sent companies a forged document containing an “urgent request for disclosure of data”. They are only used in urgent situations, as normally security agencies have to wait for court approval. Snap Inc. was to receive the same application. (owner of Snapchat) but it is unknown if he provided any data.
Security experts connect the incident with the cybercriminal group Lapsus $, which in recent days has targeted the world of modern technologies and has also attacked for Nvidia, Microsoft and Samsung. London police believe that the leader of the group may be a 16-year-old British. Recently, the police arrested several possible members of the organization.
Meta and Apple, in response to Bloomberg’s questions, ensured that they thoroughly check the applications for compliance with the law and fraud detection. The first company added that it was blocking “known hijacked accounts” responsible for submitting certain requests and was working with law enforcement to better detect possible fraudulent requests for data.
Source: Gazeta
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