Fast Company sent an obscene Apple News push notification
It’s been a while since we had a high-profile media feed hijacking, but tonight someone sent an Apple News notification from Fast company with a racist slur and an invitation to a certain sexual act. They also posted similar content on the point of sale website, indicating that the CMS or an account on it has been compromised.
Apple and Fast company have not yet commented on the incident, and it’s unclear exactly how many people received the explosion, but a look at social media reveals it went on a massive scale – Vox Media staffers who don’t subscribe to Fast company say it appeared on their phones too.
We’ve seen hackers take over Twitter feeds, YouTube channels, press releases, and the occasional website, but a takeover of Apple News alerts could be a first. However, as startup exec Zack Wynegar notesWhile the message sent was obscene and offensive, someone with that kind of access could have gone a different route to manipulate stock markets or crypto prices, similar to the Walmart Litecoin crypto hoax last year.