How hackers try to ‘use’ Apple to trick users

NEW DELHI: There is no denying that Apple as a company has a huge impact in the technology world and it seems that it has lately become the popular choice among cybercriminals too. The Cupertino-based tech giant has emerged as the most-imitated brand for phishing attacks, as per the latest Brand Phishing report by Check Point Research for the first quarter of 2020.
According to the report, in the last quarter — Q4 2019 — Apple was at the seventh spot and in this quarter leaped to become the most imitated brand used for tricking the customers into giving up sensitive information. The report says that the jump in Apple’s position was due to the sought-after launch of the Apple Watch and included “criminals exploiting the online buzz to launch several credential theft attempts.”
For those unaware, phishing is the unethical practice of cybercriminals in which they pretend to be from a familiar and popular brand and make use of a very similar domain or URL with highly similar looking emails, webpages, mobile apps etc and on those fake platforms, victims are often asked to fill out a form that requires information including personal information and card details.