The group of computer hackers who call themselves Anonymous claim they stole Apple user accounts that total 12 million. The group said they took the accounts from a laptop owned by an agent for the FBI.
The group has released over 1 million of the accounts online. A number of the claims the group posted online have been refuted or found to be unsubstantiated by computer experts. In an official statement released on Tuesday, the FBI said there was no evidence found that any FBI laptop was ever compromised or that the user accounts that were released had been sought or ever obtained by anyone in or related to the FBI.
The hacker group posted legitimate unique identifier code as well as device names of users that had been previously assigned to iPod Touches, iPads and iPhones, said the online security company F-Secure that had reviewed all the data that the group had released. It is not known if the group is in possession of the other information of users it claims it possesses.
This incident is just one of many the group has taken part in. They often use media to promote their attacks, but have also fallen short on many occasions regarding claims they have made during the past.
The group said it gained access to the Apple data in March by hacking into a laptop of an FBI agent who had been recruiting online. The group of hackers said it took advantage of a vulnerability in Java, a technology used for internet, owned by Oracle. The flaws of the technology were highlighted in an attack that took place in April infecting over 600,000 Macs and 100,000 computers with Windows.
