Apple Factory Hacked In Global Protest

Asher Moses from SMH Digital-Life is reporting that the world’s biggest tech manufacturer Foxconn has been hacked and highly sensitive data leaked online amid a global protest stunt against working conditions in the factories that make Apple’s iPhones and iPads. The hacktivist group know as Swagg Security broke into Foxconn’s systems using a vulnerability contained in an old version of Internet Explorer that had been installed on a staff member’s computer.

SwaggSec published a file on the open internet containing much of the pilfered information including the username and password used by Foxconn boss Terry Gou. The leak also meant miscreants could place bogus orders with Foxconn, which has since shut down affected servers. Foxconn has been at the centre of a sustained storm around working conditions in Chinese factories. It has numerous partners including IBM and Dell but Apple has received by far the most flack from activists looking to press the company into taking leadership on the issue.