This is because a hacking group calling themselves REvil have announced that they have managed to access the internal computers belonging to that of Quanta Computer, who for those unfamiliar is one of Apple’s main MacBook suppliers. The group also claims to have obtained schematics of unreleased MacBooks that includes specific component serial numbers, sizes, capacities, and so on, which have since been seen by Bloomberg.
The group is now holding these files hostage and are demanding that Apple, not Quanta, to pay them $50 million by the 1st of May, failing of which the group will continue to post the files online every day.
Quanta has since released a statement which reads, “We’ve reported to and kept seamless communications with the relevant law enforcement and data protection authorities concerning recent abnormal activities observed. There’s no material impact on the company’s business operation.”
It is unclear what Apple plans to do. $50 million is a lot of money, obviously, but for a cash-rich company like Apple, they can afford it. However, it will set a bad precedent as it means that other hacking groups might attempt similar attacks in the future.