Hasta La Gadget!

This might be a clue about the hacking going on the past week or so. According the All Things D, a site called iPhonedevSdk (do not visit this site; it’s malicious), is responsible for the hacks of Facebook and Apple. More »

In what we can only assume is a replay from yesterday, Jeep’s Twitter account was hacked and much of the branding was changed over to Cadillac logos and images, mentioning that Cadillac has acquired Jeep, although that couldn’t be further from the truth. We’re guessing it’s the same hackers behind yesterday’s Burger King/McDonald’s Twitter hack.

Many of the tweets are also similar to what we saw yesterday, mainly dealing with the superiority of Cadillac over Jeep, mixed in with some incoherent language and hashtags. The background was also changed to a McDonald’s-laden blinged-out car, pretty much confirming that it’s the same hacking group that we saw yesterday, due to the McDonald’s reference.

If it is the same group, then the Defonic Team Screen Name Club are the ones behind today’s Twitter hack. The group is best known for hacking into Paris Hilton’s phone a while back. Of course, Jeep is gaining hundreds of new followers by the minute, similar to how Burger King’s following grew by 30,000 users in about an hour’s time.

Jeep’s Twitter account hasn’t been suspended, unlike Burger King’s account, and it seems things are back to normal. Jeep’s head of brand communications Todd Goyer says that the company is “aware of the issue and are working to resolve it as quickly as possible.” Most of the branding is back to normal and all of the irrelevant tweets have been deleted.

Jeep Twitter account hacked, taken over by Cadillac fanboys is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Last week, Facebook was attacked by a zero-day Java exploit. While the social network said that no personal data was stolen, it’s never too comforting when companies and services get hacked. This week, however, Apple was the target this time around, saying that a “small number” Mac computers have been infected.

Apple has confirmed the news to Reuters and say that they’re currently working with authorities to investigate the attacks, but luckily the Cupertino-based company says that “there was no evidence that any data left Apple.” Apple also plans to release a tool later today that will protect Mac users against the software used in the attacks.

UPDATE: Apple has released a new version of Java meant to plug up the vulnerability. It’s available now on Apple’s support page or through the Software Update tool on OS X.

However, the exploit was said to be spread from a website for software developers, so it seems regular consumers are okay at this point. Apple ended up identifying a small number of systems that were infected, but isolated them immediately to prevent further spreading of the bug. Since newer Macs ship without Java installed, most users shouldn’t worry, but the removal tool should provide a sense of ease anyway,

Similar attacks also targeted The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Twitter just recently. All companies affected said that no critical information was stolen, but of course, that didn’t make the situation much better. Twitter says that 250,000 accounts were hacked, resulting in conscience users to change their passwords right away.

Apple targeted by Java zero-day bug [UPDATE] is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

You’ll have to be living under a rock to have missed the hoopla this year about alleged Chinese hackers attacking – and sometimes infiltrating – American media companies and other such businesses. The New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal have all stated this year that they were the target of attacks that originated from China. Although it has long been speculated that the Chinese government is responsible, evidence has now been revealed that confirms this.

According to the New York Times, American security firm Mandiant will be releasing a 60-page report detailing a link between the Chinese hacking groups and the Chinese government. In particular, the attacks are believed to originate from an office building near Shanghai, the functioning HQ for the People’s Liberation Army Unit 61398.

The Chinese government still adamantly denies the allegations, but Mandiant’s founder Kevin Mandia puts it into perspective. “Either they are coming from inside Unit 61398, or the people who run the most controlled, most-monitored Internet networks in the world are clueless about thousands of people generating attacks from this one neighborhood.”

According to a source who spoke with the Times, multiple security agencies and all intelligence agencies within in the United States believe that the Chinese hacking groups from which these attacks originate are either working as contractors for Unit 61398, or are being run by the military. Although evidence shows that one of the hacking groups in question – Command Crew – was not responsible for attacking the Times, it does show several other targets that have been affected, including such big names as Coca-Cola, as well as more important targets, such as the infrastructure that controls our electricity, water, and gas.

[via New York Times]

Evidence implicates Chinese government in hacking attacks against U.S. is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Most Twitter hackers go after heads of states or companies to stir up some humiliation. But today’s target is Burger King, which has been transformed into a combination of McDonald’s and amphetamine addict. Enjoy it while it lasts. More »