Apple Inc computers were attacked by the same hackers who targeted Facebook Inc, but no data appeared to have been stolen, the company said on Tuesday in an unprecedented admission of a widespread cyber-security breach.

Facebook revealed on Friday that unidentified hackers traced to China had staged a sophisticated attack by infiltrating its employees’ laptops, but no user information was compromised.

Apple, which is working with law enforcement to track down the hackers, told Reuters that only a small number of its employees’ Macintosh computers were breached, but “there was no evidence that any data left Apple.”

The iPhone and iPad maker said it would release a software tool later on Tuesday to protect customers against the malicious software used in the attacks.

Cyber-security attacks have been on the rise. In last week’s State of the Union address, U.S. President Barack Obama issued an executive order seeking better protection of the country’s critical infrastructure from cyber attacks.

The post Apple hit by hackers who targeted Facebook last week appeared first on Metro.us.

View Video

TV Station’s News Alert System Hacked, Broadcasts ZOMBIE Warning

You survived December’s much-heralded Mayan apocalypse, but now fear the “zombie apocalypse” and its deadly attacks? Don’t worry. It was a fake, the artwork of hackers in Montana.

Hackers infiltrated the emergency broadcast system of local station KRTV in Great Falls, Montana, a CBS affiliate, and issued the zombie alert, the station said on Tuesday.

Viewers were warned of a so-called zombie apocalypse and advised not to tangle with the monstrous creatures, the station said.

Engineers at the station were investigating the incident, which occurred during a Monday afternoon broadcast, said Jon Saunders, vice president of the station’s parent company, Cordillera Communications.

Video posted to the Internet shows the transmission interrupted a local broadcast of the Steve Wilkos talk show.

No images flashed across the screen during the hoax. But a male voice told viewers: “Civil authorities in your area have reported that the bodies of the dead are rising from the grave and attacking the living.” The voice warned not “to approach or apprehend these bodies as they are extremely dangerous.”

Saunders said early reports suggest similar but separate attacks were launched in the past 24 hours against emergency alert systems for TV stations elsewhere, including Michigan.

“It appears to be more widespread than we thought,” he said.

The hoax caused several humorous-minded residents in Great Falls to call authorities to inquire if guns were an adequate defense against zombie hordes.

“We didn’t get any serious calls on it,” Great Falls Police Department spokesman Bill Hunter said.

Local law enforcement has not been asked to investigate the hack into the Montana station, he said. Hunter said it was not immediately clear why hackers had sought to get a rise out of a zombie scare.

“It’s been a real chuckle,” he said.

The post VIDEO: That ‘zombie apocalypse’ warning in Montana? It was fake appeared first on Metro.us.