iPhoneDevSDK says tech industry hacks tied to admin account
updated 02:49 pm EST, Wed February 20, 2013
Threat has ended, site owner says
The recent hacker attacks on Apple and Facebook are specifically connected to a compromised administrator account on the iPhoneDevSDK forums, says the website's owner, Ian Sefferman. While the site has been implicated before, little else was known beyond the site being infected with malware. In a blog post, Sefferman explains that the cracked admin account was used to alter the site's theme and inject malicious JavaScript code.
The attacker(s) ended their efforts on January 30th. Like other parties involved in the incident, Sefferman claims that no user data appears to have been stolen. The site may now be safe to visit, but for the time being MacNN will avoid linking to it directly.
Unmentioned by Sefferman is the possible identity of the hacker(s). While most reports have pointed to a Chinese group, Bloomberg sources have pointed to a criminal gang in eastern Europe or Russia. Agencies like the FBI and the Secret Service are reportedly investigating.
