Affiliate Disclosure
If you buy through our links, we may get a commission. Read our ethics policy.

Hackers trying to bribe Apple workers into handing over login information, report says

Hackers are trying to bribe workers at Apple's Irish offices with thousands of euros, hoping to gain access to sensitive company login information, according to several people within the company.

"I could sell my Apple ID login information online for €20,000 [$23,000]," one source noted to Business Insider. While the same person claimed that the hackers are emailing people at "random," another source said that they're specifically hunting for people who've "jumped diagonally" into a junior management position, and therefore aren't committed "lifers" resistant to outside offers.

To counteract the bribes the company has reportedly launched an initiative called "Grow Your Own," but further details about it are unknown.

Likewise uncertain is exactly what the hackers are after, but they could be looking to steal product information or business strategies. Apple's Irish workforce is unlikely to have access to the most sensitive content, however, which is presumably reserved for high-level designers, engineers, and executives at Apple's main headquarters in Cupertino.

Apple's Irish facilities are generally dedicated to the more mundane aspects of its business, though they are home to the company's only fully-owned factory, which assembles iMacs. The company also funnels much of its international revenue through the country in an attempt to reduce taxes.