Hacker Who Blackmailed Apple For $100,000 Gets No Prison Time

A self-proclaimed hacker, who allegedly has access to more than 300 million iCloud accounts and blackmailed the Cupertino tech giant Apple, recently, pleaded guilty in London. The 22-year-old Kerem Albayrak from North London threatened to factory reset iCloud accounts if Apple fails to give his demands. He was sentenced recently to a two-year suspended jail term, 300 hours of unpaid work, and a six-month electronic curfew, reports ZDNet.

In March 2017, the self-proclaimed Apple hacker claimed to be the spokesman of a hacking group named the Turkish Crime Family. He said that he is in possession of 319 million iCloud accounts. The then 20 years old hacker gave the Cupertino company a deadline of until Apr. 7, 2017, to pay $100,000 worth of iTunes gift card or $75,000 in crypto-currency in exchange for deleting the copy of the stolen database, according to a statement from the UK National Crime Agency.

Albayrak claimed that if Apple could not meet his demand, he will start to wipe Apple devices remotely, factory reset iCloud accounts, and share the stolen database online. In March 2017, the National Cyber Crime Unit arrested the Apple hacker at his home. The team also seized his digital devices, such as his smartphone, computers, and hard drives. The arrest was made possible after Apple coordinated with law enforcement in the US and the UK.

Earlier in December, the Apple blackmailer pleaded guilty to one count of blackmail and two counts of "unauthorized acts with intent to impair the operation of or prevent/hinder access to a computer." he was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court and received a two year suspended jail term, full 300 hours of unpaid work in the neighborhood, and a six-month electronic curfew.

"Albayrak wrongly believed he could escape justice after hacking into two accounts and attempting to blackmail a large multi-national corporation," claims Senior Investigative Officer for the NCA Anna Smith. "During the investigation, it became clear that he was seeking fame and fortune. But cyber-crime doesn't pay. The NCA is committed to bringing cyber-criminals to justice. It is imperative that victims report such compromises as soon as possible and retain all evidence," the officer adds.