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Melbourne Teen Hacked Into Apple's Secure Computer Network, Court Told (theage.com.au)

Posted by msmash on from the child's-play dept.

A Melbourne private schoolboy who repeatedly broke into Apple's secure computer systems is facing criminal charges after the technology giant called in the FBI. From a report: The teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons, broke into Apple's mainframe from his suburban home on multiple occasions over a year because he was such a fan of the company, according to his lawyer. The Children's Court heard on Thursday that he had downloaded 90GB of secure files and accessed customer accounts. His offending from the age of 16 saw him develop computerized 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."

15 of 125 comments (clear)

  1. Mainframe? by Jaime2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Who here believes that Apple stores its data on a mainframe?

    1. Re:Mainframe? by ArchieBunker · · Score: 2

      The mainframe business is alive and well. Read up on some of the new features of these beasts.

      --
      Only the State obtains its revenue by coercion. - Murray Rothbard
    2. Re: Mainframe? by Opportunist · · Score: 2

      Aww, don't spoil it. At least wait 'til the first ones replied with foam coming from their mouth.

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    3. Re:Mainframe? by hackertourist · · Score: 3, Informative

      At one point, Apple had a line of servers that ran AIX.

  2. Flash forward by Lucas123 · · Score: 2

    And, this kid will be making big bucks using his skills for Apple or some other tech giant.

    1. Re:Flash forward by Opportunist · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Nope. Sorry to burst that bubble, but a criminal record is not a letter of recommendation.

      Or, in the words of an ex-boss of mine "I don't need people with a criminal record. People who don't know how not to get caught are bad for the company reputation".

      --
      We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
    2. Re:Flash forward by Lucas123 · · Score: 2

      Never heard of Frank Abagnale, who was hired by the FBI after committing years of fraud? Loyd Blankenship, a hacker for more than a decade, who was then was hired by Steve Jackson Games in 1989 to work on GURPS Cyberpunk. Howabout Peter Hajas, a well known developer/hacker for jailbroken iOS devices, was hired by Apple in 2011?

      The list goes on and on.

  3. Poor kid by SuperKendall · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I feel really sorry for young hackers like this, who are just doing the exploration for fun and not really in it for espionage or destructive motives... this is one case where I really wish Apple would have hired him to do security testing and not sent his life on a downward spiral.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    1. Re:Poor kid by SuperKendall · · Score: 2

      So where exactly are you falling on the spectrum these days?

      I'm a big fan of indigo (specifically 463nm), or infa-red (more specifically 750-800nm).

      Thanks for asking!

      --
      "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
    2. Re:Poor kid by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 3, Insightful

      On one hand I agree with you in principle

      I know it's sad, but there's so many people using the word "principal" when they meant to use "principle" that I feel obligated to give you this virtual moderation:

      +1, Proper grammar.

      --
      #DeleteFacebook
  4. Re:Hacky hack hack by ir0nHat · · Score: 2

    "Hacky McHackface" could have been his cybername.

  5. Hello, Editor? by sizzlinkitty · · Score: 2

    Someone should proof read this article. My 5 month old great dane can write better than whoever put this dumpster fire together.

  6. Re:It won't happen again by zlives · · Score: 2

    hehe, i miss that guy, who wudda thunk

  7. Re: Genius haxx0r by c6gunner · · Score: 2

    I mean how did they trace him back if he used them to "hide his identity"...

    By contacting the owners of the machines he was tunneling through and getting them to watch for the next time he connected. This is why you shouldn't reuse tunnels when doing this kind of thing.

  8. Re:We learnt after "The Fappening" it's not secure by TheFakeTimCook · · Score: 2

    all users' iCloud data just sits there unencrypted, ready to be filtered by personal details. Calling it secure is hilarious, and if you ever thought your stuff was secure and private with Apple, you were equally hilariously wrong.

    iCloud data is end-to-end encrypted.

    Now fuck off.