Apple says it was hacked

CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. technology giant Apple said company computers were infected with a computer virus similar to one that recently attacked Facebook Inc.

Facebook said Friday that hackers had gotten past its security system in January. Apple said that a "small number" of its computers had been attacked with a "watering hole" virus, which is similar to the attack on Facebook, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The attack on Apple's computers displays at least two troublesome trends.

The first is that Apple computers were the target of attacks. Previously it had been a bragging point that Apple computers were rarely targeted by hackers.

The attack also shows that hackers aren't just looking for credit card numbers and other personal information. Facebook and Apple both said personal data weren't stolen, although a recent attack on Twitter may have allowed hackers access to 250,000 email addresses and user names.

Hackers may be after confidential company information, including product development plans, the Journal said.

Sources of security breaches are also in flux. A report scheduled for release Wednesday says research firm Trustwave Holdings Inc. investigated 450 data breaches in 2012 and that 33 percent were traced to hackers in Romania and 29 percent originated in the United States.