Apple's network hacked by a Melbourne school boy

VARINDIA- INDIA'S FRONTLINE IT MAGAZINE

According to a report, a Melbourne private schoolboy has repeatedly broken into Apple’s secure computer systems from his suburban home on multiple occasions for over a year because he was a fan of the company. The Children’s Court has heard that he had downloaded 90gb of secure files and also accessed customer accounts.

From the age of 16 he developed computerised tunnels and online bypassing systems to hide his identity until a raid on his family home uncovered a litany of hacking files and instructions all saved in a folder titled “hacky hack hack”. Two Apple laptops were seized and the serial numbers matched the serial numbers of the devices which accessed the internal systems of the company.

The major international investigation was sparked when Apple contacted the FBI, who passed the allegations on to the AFP. The AFP found the software that had enabled the hacking had been installed on the teen’s laptop. Further analysis found that the schoolboy successfully accessed “authorised keys” as part of his offending. Authorised keys grant log-in access to users and are said to be extremely secure. He then used Whatsapp to communicate his offending to others. The ongoing access continued until Apple eventually detected his presence and he was blocked.

The teen’s defence lawyer said his client had become so well known in the international hacking community that even mentioning the case in detail could expose him to risk. The accused told the police that he had “dreamed of” working for Apple. The magistrate acknowledged the teen’s guilty plea and stood the matter down until next month for sentencing, due to the case’s complexities.