Apple and Facebook parent firm, Meta, reportedly handed over information to hackers who were pretending to be law enforcement officers.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs watches a video of the new iPhone 3G as he delivers the keynote address at the Apple Worldwide Web Developers Conference June 9, 2008 in San Francisco, California. Jobs kicked off the 2008 WWDC conference with a keynote where he announced an upgraded version of the popular iPhone called the iPhone 3G.
Apple, Meta Hands Over Info to Hackers
As per a news story by Bloomberg, tech giants, Apple and Meta, formerly known as Facebook, gave the data of their customers to hackers who made these firms believe that they were law enforcement authorities.
The news outlet cited three sources that were close to the matter, which said that both Apple and Meta have given away the private data of their users and customers, including their phone numbers, addresses, and IP addresses.
On top of that, the news outlet noted that the incident occurred way back in mid-2021.
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Hackers and Fake Emergency Requests
It turns out that the two tech giants handed over this information to hackers who successfully created fake "emergency data requests."
The sources of Bloomberg went on to say that law enforcement officials typically provide requests along with either a subpoena that was signed by a court judge or a search warrant.
Meanwhile, according to a recent report by The Verge, authorities usually request data of customers of social media giants if there is an ongoing criminal investigation.
In this illustration photo taken in Los Angeles on October 28, 2021, a person watches on a smartphone Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg unveil the META logo. - Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday announced the parent company's name is being changed to "Meta" to represent a future beyond just its troubled social network. The new handle comes as the social media giant tries to fend off one its worst crises yet and pivot to its ambitions for the "metaverse" virtual reality version of the internet that the tech giant sees as the future.
It further provides law enforcement officials with more information about a certain social media account that could have been involved in criminal activity. But, this time around, it appears that threat actors are using emergency requests to carry out an attack.
It is worth noting that "emergency data requests" do not require any court order. It comes as it is usually used for instances wherein there is a life-threatening case.
That said, the "emergency request" that the hackers forged conveniently did not require any search warrant or subpoena that had been signed by the judge.
The Verge noted in the same story that criminal minds have increasingly been using emergency requests to obtain information from their targets.
What's more, the news outlet added that such fake requests are usually made by teenagers who are also cybercriminals.
In fact, Bloomberg reported that some cybersecurity experts are saying that the teen mastermind could be behind the fake emergency request sent to Apple and Meta.
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Written by Teejay Boris
