Apple fans across Australia are finding their iPad and iPhones held for ransom by miscreants demanding $50 and more for unlock fee. The extortionate demands appeared in messages claiming the device had been "hacked by Oleg Pliss" – but it'd be highly unlikely that the cybercrooks behind the scam, which appears to be localised …

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Tuesday 27th May 2014 18:26 GMT Anonymous Coward

What's the bet this turns out to be a case of users using the same passwords across multiple sites and their (eBay perhaps?) password being compromised which is also their iCloud password etc.

We'll probably see more of this with many other online services where people used the same credentials on multiple systems - i.e. not something specific to Apple?

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1. Tuesday 27th May 2014 19:09 GMT Mike Bell
  
  A good bet, I'd have thought. Most users recycle their password across many sites and services, ripe for picking from insecure websites or dodgy site administrators. Probably made all the easier when the password is likely to be 'fosters', 'tinny' or 'sheila'.
  
  Don't do it, kids. Use a password manager of some description and create a unique strong password for each system you use. Above all else, keep your Apple password safe. iCloud Keychain provides a piss-easy way of generating, populating and syncing password fields across sites and devices, but it's like a master key in this respect. 2-factor authentication is a must.
  
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2. Tuesday 27th May 2014 19:46 GMT jonathanb
  
  I guess you should be looking for a website that is popular only in Australia and New Zealand rather than eBay.
  
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Tuesday 27th May 2014 20:32 GMT Ted Treen

Yet again...

the inherent weakness in ANY system - iOS, Android, Windows, OSX, Linux - is the liveware.

PICNIC again.

Problem

In

Chair

Not

In

Computer

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Wednesday 28th May 2014 04:01 GMT Fluffy Bunny

Very affordable

On the other hand, if you can afford an iPhone, you can affort $50.

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