Quanta Computer, one of Apple’s prime suppliers, has been hit with a ransomware attack. The hacker group is demanding over $50 million from the supplier and is threatening Apple that it will leak future MacBook designs online.
Reported by The Record, Taiwan-based Apple supplier Quanta has been hit with a cyberattack, supposedly leaking future MacBook designs. Quanta Computer is reportedly supplying Apple with autonomous driving solutions for its upcoming Apple Car.
Quanta says that it has been “trying to recover data” and has been “conducting a detailed investigation to ensure containment and recovery of data are in the process”.
REvil, a popular cyberhacking group has taken the responsibility for the attack and is now threatening Apple that it will release future MacBook designs online. Quanta has refused to co-operate with REvil’s demands and has requested Apple to pay up the amount by May 1.
“Our team is negotiating the sale of large quantities of confidential drawings and gigabytes of personal data with several major brands,” the REvil post added.
As a proof, REvil has already uploaded some of the screenshots of the upcoming MacBook designs online, although nothing deemed worthy of the coverage. But the group has threatened Apple that it ‘can’ leak more sensitive information in case its demands are not met.
Quanta says that there was little to marginal impact to its operations, and that “a small range of services” hit by the attacks had been restored. REvil, last month, carried out a similar attack on Acer’s server leaking some of the information and demanding $50 million in exchange.
Ransomware attacks have become increasingly prevalent as the usage, and legalization, of cryptocurrency increases. Last year, a spyware attack on iPhones stole some of the sensitive information. As a measure of increasing security on its iPhones, Apple has also said to be working on a feature that will let you install the security patch on your iPhone.
[Via The Record]Update: According to the leaked schematics, Apple is planning to add an HDMI port, SD card, and MagSafe for charging to the upcoming MacBook Pro.
