Hackers Hit Apple

Hackers this weekend targeted Apple, claiming yet another victim in their tour of duty against major worldwide corporations and governments.

AntiSec, a fusion of hacktivists Anonymous and the now-defunct LulzSec, tweeted Sunday that it broke into an Apple server, collecting 26 administrative user names and passwords. The anonymous hackers claim they accessed the Cupertino, Calif.-based company's systems through a security flaw in third-party software.

"Apple could be target, too," the group tweeted. "But don't worry, we are busy elsewhere."

AntiSec formed when LulzSec and Anonymous hackers pledged to unite against major financial institutions and governments worldwide. The resulting group has been active ever since, striking out at various online bastions with distributed denial-of-service attacks.

Apple declined to comment about the breach, but it can't be happy about falling victim to hackers just like so many other companies and governments in the last several months.

Apple got off easy, it seems, compared to Citigroup with its embarrassing $2.7 million breach. The bank is scrambling to restore customer confidence in the wake of this attack, while entertainment giant Sony finally restored its systems after an 11-week spell without service.

Sony in April suffered the biggest recorded data breach, with 100 million user accounts and tens of thousands of credit card numbers stolen. The International Monetary Fund and Epsilon didn't fare much better and are also struggling to discover who broke into their systems over the last months.

Along political lines, hacktivist group Anonymous stands out with its history of online activism against what it says are restrictions on free speech. The group first became famous when it shut down Visa, MasterCard and Amazon for refusing to process WikiLeaks payments. Anons then targeted Egyptian, Tunisian and Libyan regimes, among others, during the Arab Spring, going on to hit Turkish government sites after the country announced it would restrict Internet freedoms starting in August.

Google, too, suffered a political breach when Chinese hackers conducted a spear-phishing expedition against high-profile journalists, diplomats and activists.

If Anonymous is the poster child for politically motivated hacks, its former sister LulzSec represents the "for the lulz" side of hacking. The group's colorful narratives and snarky illustrations characterized their hacking spree until the group disbanded last week. LulzSec pranks include downing FBI, CIA and U.S. Senate websites "for fun" besides posting a fake story to the PBS site that deceased rapper Tupac Shakur is alive and well in New Zealand.

With all of these major hacks making headlines, Apple's incident seems small by comparison. But in the online jungle, no one is safe, and the company may see further attacks unless it bolsters its security systems.
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The almighty Apple can be hacked just like everyone else.