the big Apple for $ 75,000 in Bitcoin or Ethereum cryptocurrency . Alternatively , in lieu of those options , they will even acceptAttack.Ransom$ 100,000 in iTunes gift cards ( a potentially risky option for them ) . Apple responded to the allegation that the hackers breachedAttack.Databreachits systems , assuring their systems were not compromisedAttack.Databreach, but did not confirm if the hackers do in fact holdAttack.Databreachan entire collection of Apple IDs and passwords . Whatever information they do have , probably came from previously comprised third-parties . `` If the list is legitimate , it was not obtainedAttack.Databreachthrough any hackAttack.Databreachof Apple , '' an Apple spokesperson told Fortune in an email . `` There have not been any breachesAttack.Databreachin any of Apple 's systems including iCloud and Apple ID . '' Even if the data did n't come from an Apple breachAttack.Databreach, it could still mean your iCloud login details are out there . Fortune suggested that the logins could be from the LinkedIn hackAttack.Databreach, in which login info from 117 million accounts was sold on the black market site `` The Real Deal . '' Though , if the Turkish Crime Family really has 559 million accounts , well , a mere fraction of the 117 million from LinkedIn does n't really cut it . The hackers have been sending login information to media companies in an effort to gather attention to their scam . For example , The Next Web received a small fraction of the alleged data from the hackers , and cross-referenced the info with the site Have I Been Pwned , which checks to see if your email or username has been compromisedAttack.Databreachin a hack . Most of the samples provided to TNW do n't appear to have been involved in the LinkedIn hack or other hacks in the Pwned database , but TNW was able to accessAttack.Databreachthe accounts with the login information provided by the hackers , so the info looks legitimate . They ca n't test every login , so the small sample may not be indicative of the whole . The Turkish Crime Family also noted to TNW that all conversations with Apple were actually kept private and never reported to Motherboard . Instead , the conversation between the Turkish Crime Family and Motherboard were led by a member that has now been removed for his `` inaccuracy '' and `` lack of professionalism , '' an the group denies the authenticity of Motherboard 's report . Overall , the hacking team seems to have a hard time sticking to one story . Now , the hacker group is confirming Apple 's statement that its systems have not been breachedAttack.Databreach, and that the stolen data was obtainedAttack.Databreachthrough previously compromised systems over the last five years . The Turkish Crime Family is , in fact , not contradicting Apple . They did not breachAttack.Databreachthe company , nor did they ever state to Motherboard that they stoleAttack.Databreachthe info directly from Apple . Rather , after Motherboard 's breaking March 21 report , a breach was assumed by some news outlets such as BGR , though most media sites never directly stated that the hackers breached Apple . The Turkish Crime Family 's initial response to Motherboard , and the group 's only statement , was to extortAttack.RansomApple over an alleged cache of iCloud and other Apple email accounts . The group never stated where their cache of data came from until today when they contacted TNW in response to Apple .
Criminals are still trying to shake downAttack.Ransomusers of the Ashley Madison dating/cheating online service . As you might remember , the service was hackedAttack.Databreachin 2015 , and the attackers stoleAttack.Databreachsensitive personal and financial data of 37 million users , and later dumped it online . Since then , cyber criminals have been attempting to monetize this data by sending emails to users whose info they found in the dump , threatening to reveal all of it to the target ’ s nearest and dearest , and asking for moneyAttack.Ransomin exchange for silence . The emails generally contain some of the target ’ s personal data as to make the threat believable , and often claims that the attackers have found the target ’ s Facebook account and , therefore , have the means to contact their friends , family , and employer . In this latest round of blackmail attemptsAttack.Ransom, they are threatening to set up a site and publish all the stolen information . “ On May 1 2017 we are launching our new site – Cheaters Gallery – exposing those who cheat and destroy families . We will launch the site with a big email to all the friends and family of cheaters taken from Facebook , LinkedIn and other social sites . This will include you if do not pay to opting out , ” the email says , as noted by ZDNet ’ s Robin Harris , who received one . The extortionists are asking forAttack.Ransomsome $ 500 ( in Bitcoin ) . It ’ s impossible to tell whether these crooks are the same ones that mounted previous email blackmail attemptsAttack.Ransom. What is definitely obvious is that they are betting on there still being some users with too much to lose if the information gets out . Harris did not share the contents of the email he received , but recipients can be sure that if their Facebook or other social media account isn ’ t specified in it , the blackmailers haven ’ t actually connected the two accounts . More likely than not , they have simply written a script that takes specific info from the Ashley Madison data dumpAttack.Databreach, inserts it in a template email , and fires these emails off to as many recipients as possible .