Dutch Hacker Ransoms Jailbroken iPhones For €5, Issues Apology

Several jailbroken iPhone users recently had their iPhones held hostage by a Dutch iPhone hacker. They were surprised one day to find a message on their device stating that their precious iPhone had "been hacked because it's really insecure," saying the mystery messenger had access to all of their files.

The message instructed users to go to a website asking for €5 to get instructions to remove the hack and secure their device. It is apparent that the hacker had no malicious intentions other than making a little money, saying in the message:

"If you don't pay, it's fine by me. But remember, the way I got access to your iPhone can be used by thousands of others—they can send text messages from your number (like I did), use it to call or record your calls, and actually whatever they want, even use it for their hacking activities! I can assure you, I have no intention of harming you or whatever, but, some hackers do! It's just my advice to secure your phone."

The hacker had used port scanning to discover jailbroken iPhones running on T-Mobile Netherlands's network that had been jailbroken and were running SSH (commonly used to allow the user to log in to the device via a Terminal and run UNIX commands).

In the following hours, the hacker appears to have changed his ways, posting instructions for undoing the hack at no charge. He has also since apologized for asking for money and returned the money he's made from the stunt.

[via Ars Technica]