The hacker IntelBroker claims to have stolen the sourcecode for three of Apple’s internal tools.
Whether this is true or not has not yet been verified. An analysis of the code posted on a criminal forum shows that it isn’t the sourcecode itself, but elements of plugin systems.
Three Internal Tools Affected
According to IntelBroker, three internal tools are affected.
These are AppleConnect-SSO, Apple-HWE-Confluence-Advanced and AppleMacroPlugin. None of these will affect consumer data, but they do affect the internal functioning of Apple’s systems.
Purpose Not Known
The purpose of the alleged theft is not known, but previously IntelBroker has tried to sell the data they have stolen.
IntelBroker is known for attacks on large organisations such as General Electric, Barclays Bank, Europol and the US State Department.
Who is IntelBroker?
The identity of IntelBroker is still unknown.
They are an English speaking hacker, but whether they are one person or a group and which country they are in or what their motives are still remain unknown.
Possible Agenda Revealed
The increase in attacks on US entities and government agencies may seem to indicate a political direction.
IntelBroker has attacked the US Transportation Department as well as the State and Homeland Security Departments and US Citizenship and Immigration Services, amongst many others.
Modus Operandi
Despite the name IntelBroker and their other pseudonym, Endurance Ransomware, they don’t operate like other ransomware criminals.
IntelBroker doesn’t encrypt the data they steal or try to extort the victims for money to make them buy it back. They prefer instead to try and sell the data online. However, they haven’t yet tried to do that with Apple’s code.
No Statement From Apple
There has as yet been no statement from Apple about the theft.
However, after a data breach in 2013, Apple took the time to strengthen it’s security systems. On that occasion it was customer data that was stolen.
AMD also Breached
Earlier this week IntelBroker breached the multinational semiconductor company AMD.
In that incident, both employee and product information was stolen. Law enforcement are involved in investigating the incident.
What Companies Do to Protect Themselves
There are several tactics that companies use to guard against hacking.
One is data encryption. This is one of the most effective tools against hacking. Another is two-factor authentication and strong password rules. Cybersecurity training for staff is another, as is regularly updating sottware and keeping backups.
How Law Enforcement Catch Hackers
There are several methods that law enforcement use to catch hackers.
One is tracking IP addresses, GPS tracking is another as is forensic analysis. Traditional policing still has its place too and watching out for the mistakes hackers make or the data trails they leave can be very profitable in tracking them down.
