Although the abuses at media companies were unheard of, the notification was one of the biggest abuses of Apple’s Walled Garden in memory. There was no indication that the user’s security had been compromised other than the annoying wording.
“Fast Company’s Apple News account was hacked on Tuesday evening. Two obscene and racist notices were sent within a minute of each other,” the magazine said via email. “The messages are vile and inconsistent with Fast Company’s content. We are investigating the situation and have suspended and closed the broadcast FastCompany.com Until we make sure the situation is resolved.”
An Apple spokesperson pointed to a tweet from Apple News that said, “An incredibly offensive alert has been sent from Fast Company, which has been hacked. Apple News has taken down their channel.”
An incredibly aggressive alert was sent from Fast Company, which was hacked. Apple News has disabled their channel.
– Apple News (AppleNews) September 28, 2022
While defacing the magazine’s website, it provided an article titled Sponsored Content that described how the hack could have happened.
This account said the group went into the company’s WordPress software and found keys for functions including the Apple News API.