Apple devices in Australia are being digitally hijacked and held for ransom. The hacker, who has identified himself through a message, "hacked by Oleg Pliss," is demanding 100 US dollars in return for the restoration of access to their device and to not have he/she erase the data found on each individual device.
In response, Australian users have taken to Apple's Support forums to relate the news of what is happening and demand the company intervene to assist in the breach.
Based on many of the posts on the forums, users have seen their iPad and other Apple services be compromised by the hacker, who is demanding $100 via PayPal for the return of the device's access.
"iPad woke me at 4.30am with the message 'Your device has been hacked by Oleg Pliss' and sound -- I thought it was the morning alarm," wrote user deskokat. "I then signed in to my powerbook -- but as a guest user -- VERY grateful I did. Message to say I'd been hacked there too, wouldn't let me sign out without erasing all data for that user. As there was nothing but a couple of expendable files on there, I signed out. And the guest user portal has been erased."
And it appears the issue is not solely an Australian problem. Reports are surfacing that New Zealand users are also beginning to see the message from the hacker. One of the users was apparently in London at the time they were hacked.
As per the country's telecom operators Optus and Vodafone, they have received no formal complaints about the hack, but were aware that it has happened and urged users to get in touch with Apple, saying that the company is "best placed to offer comment on their services."
A Telstra official did admit to the issue.
"We're aware of the reports and we've referred the matter to Apple. In the meantime customers who need assistance can contact Apple Care."
Cyber security has quickly become a major issue at the current moment, as eBay and Spotify are the latest companies to report breaches of their users' data. This has led to growing sense of fear among the general population over the ease at which hackers have been able to get into digital spaces and capture personal information.
The result has been both legislators in the United States and abroad demanding more action be taken to ensure the full security of individuals' information when they are online.
