SYDNEY: An Australian teenager has pleaded guilty to hacking into the main computer network of technology giant Apple Inc, downloading big internal files and accessing customer accounts, because he was a fan of the company, local media reported.
The boy, 16, from Melbourne city, broke into the United States company’s mainframe from his suburban home many times over a year, The Age newspaper reported, citing statements by the teenager’s lawyer in court.
The teen downloaded 90 gigabytes of secure files and accessed customer accounts without exposing his identity. When Apple became aware of the intrusion it contacted the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, which referred the matter to the Australian Federal Police (AFP), the newspaper said, quoting statements made in court.
The AFP declined a Reuters request for comment on the grounds that the matter was before the court.
An Apple representative in Australia was not immediately available for comment.
The report said that an AFP raid on the boy’s family home produced two laptops, a mobile phone and a hard drive which matched the intrusion reported by Apple. The sensitive documents were saved in a folder called “hacky hack hack,” the report added.
The report said the boy had boasted about his activities on the mobile messaging service WhatsApp.
The boy’s name could not be made public because he was a juvenile offender.
The report said the boy would be sentenced next month.
Australian teen sparks FBI action after hacking Apple -media
Australian teen sparks FBI action after hacking Apple -media
- The report said the boy had boasted about his activities on the mobile messaging service WhatsApp
- An Apple representative in Australia was not immediately available for comment
Apple to update EU browser options, make more apps deletable
- iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7
- Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options
STOCKHOLM: Apple will change how users choose browser options in the European Union, add a dedicated section for changing default apps, and make more apps deletable, the company said on Thursday.
The iPhone maker came under pressure from regulators to make changes after the EU’s sweeping Digital Markets Act took effect on March 7, forcing big tech companies to offer mobile users the ability to select from a list of available web browsers on a “choice screen.”
The new rules require mobile software makers to show the choice screen where users can select a browser, search engine and virtual assistant as they set up their phones, which earlier came with preferred options from Apple and Google.
In an update later this year, Apple users will be able to select a default browser directly from the choice screen after going through a mandatory list of options.
A randomly ordered list of 12 browsers per EU country will be shown to the user with short descriptions, and the chosen one will be automatically downloaded, Apple said. The choice screen will also be available on iPads through an update later this year.
Apple released a previous update in response to the new rules in March, but browser companies criticized the design of its choice screen, and the Commission opened an investigation on March 25 saying it suspected that the measures fell short of effective compliance.
The company said it has been in dialogue with the European Commission and believes the new changes will address regulators’ concerns.
It also plans to introduce a dedicated area for default apps where a user will be able to set defaults for messaging, phone calls, spam filters, password managers and keyboards.
Users will also be able to delete certain Apple-made apps such as App Store, Messages, Camera, Photos and Safari. Only Settings and Phone apps would not be deletable.
