The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the hackers responsible for the recent ransom attack on iOS users, may have been arrested in Russia.
The hackers, aged 17 and 23, were from the Southern Administrative District of Moscow, and where apprehended when they were in the act of withdrawing stolen funds from the PayPal account used in the attack.
The attack, which resulted from compromised Apple ID information uncovered through phishing tactics, resulted in hackers taking advantage of Apple’s remote locking features of its iCloud service, allowing them to lock down a device and demand victims pay a ransom to get them unlocked.
Apple has denied this attack was from a breakdown in the security of its iCloud services, suggesting the information was obtained through phishing or a breakdown in a third-party service where iCloud information may have been stored.
Any person affected by this attack should change their iCloud passwords to prevent further misuse of their accounts.
UPDATE: While in custody for hacking and theft by holding iOS devices for ransom, it is currently unclear whether the individuals arrested were the perpetrators responsible for the specific “Oleg Pliss” attack.
