Apple supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company today confirmed to TechCrunch that it recently suffered a data breach. TSMC is responsible for creating all of the A-series and M-series chips used in Apple devices. A TSMC spokesperson said that a "cybersecurity incident" caused data "pertinent to server initial setup and configuration" to leak, but TSMC customer information was not impacted."Upon review, this incident has not affected TSMC's business operations, nor did it compromise any TSMC's customer information. After the incident, TSMC has immediately terminated its data exchange with this concerned supplier in accordance with the Company's security protocols and standard operating procedures."Data from TSMC was listed on the LockBit ransomware gang's website on Thursday, with LockBit demanding $70 million to prevent…

Ransomware gang LockBit claims it has breached Apple chip supplier TSMC — but TSMC says no, the group only got into a minor supplier's systems and nothing of the processor firm's was taken.LockBit has recently been targeting Apple Silicon in its ransomware attacks. Now it claims to have successfully gone after TSMC, the manufacturer that makes Apple Silicon processors.According to TechCrunch, TSMC confirmed the data breach after the LockBit group publicized that its hack. The ransom demanded to prevent the stolen data being published is $70 million — but TSMC says the Russian-linked gang did not succeed in getting any of its data. Read more...

Apple’s chipmaker partner TSMC has confirmed that it was impacted by a data breach on one of its third-party suppliers. As reported by TechCrunch, the ransomware group LockBit claimed responsibility for the breach and is demanding a ransom payment of $70 million not to leak the stolen data. more… The post Apple supplier TSMC hit by data breach, ransomware group demanding $70 million payment appeared first on 9to5Mac.

Macworld Digital security firm Kaspersky has posted information about a recent cyberattack that targeted the iPhones of Kaspersky employees, which were infected with spyware that is part of a campaign the company dubbed, “Operation Triangulation.” Hackers were able to infect the iPhones using what Kaspersky called an “invisible iMessage with a malicious attachment” that can be activated without user interaction. Once installed, Triangulation was able to gather sensitive information (audio recordings, photos, geolocation, and more) and transmit that data to remote servers. All of this can occur without the user being able to notice. In a separate, more technical post, Kaspersky points out that “the most recent version of the devices successfully targeted is iOS 15.7.” An Apple representative told…

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed on Thursday it had uncovered a U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) plot using previously unknown malware to access vulnerabilities in Apple iPhones. Lockdown Mode is the first major capability of its kind designed to offer an extreme, optional protection for the very small number of users who face grave, targeted threats to their digital security. Guy Faulconbridge for Reuters: The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, said several thousand Apple phones had been infected, including those of domestic Russian subscribers. The Russian spy agency also said telephones belonging to foreign diplomats based in Russia and the former Soviet Union, including those from Israel, Syria, China and NATO members, had been targeted. “The…

Macworld There are two main reasons why someone might want to install a VPN on an iPhone. One important reason is to protect their privacy and increase their security. Another key reason is that a VPN can be used to make it look like you are based in a different country, which can unlock content that wouldn’t be available where you actually are. If you are concerned about how secure the data on you iPhone is a VPN may be a solution that could give you peace of mind. We have a selection of VPNs for iPhone that we recommend below. But first we’ll quickly address why you might, or might not, want an VPN to protect the data on…