iPad Security Breach Exposed Personal Information Of Over 100,000 Users: REPORT

UPDATED
Goatse Security, a web security/"hacking" group, discovered a major security hole that may have compromised the personal information of some 114,000 iPad users, Gawker reports.

The exposed information was believed to have included users' email addresses and ICC-IDs, a unique ID stored on a SIM card that is used to identify a mobile subscriber and enable them to connect to a mobile network (in this case, AT&T). An AT&T spokesperson who contacted the Huffington Post said that the only personal information exposed were email addresses (see statement below).

According to Gawker, this data belonged to "dozens of CEOs, military officials, and top politicians," as well as "A-listers in finance, politics and media, from New York Times Co. CEO Janet Robinson to Diane Sawyer of ABC News to film mogul Harvey Weinstein to Mayor Michael Bloomberg." Rahm Emanuel and the Air Force's Colonel William Eldredge may also have had their personal data put at risk, while it's even possible that "confidential information about every iPad 3G owner in the U.S. has been exposed."

Only 3G-enabled iPads, which are connected to AT&T's 3G network, seem to have been affected. Goatse's probe into the iPad 3G security hole suggests that the blame lies with AT&T, but possibly Apple, as well. (Find out how they uncovered the breach here)

AT&T has addressed the data breach in "recent days," but only after Goatse alerted the company to the security weakness. iPad 3G users were reportedly not notified of the security glitch.

The AT&T spokesperson told the Huffington Post in a statement:

AT&T was informed by a business customer on Monday of the potential exposure of their iPad ICC IDS. The only information that can be derived from the ICC IDS is the e-mail address attached to that device.

This issue was escalated to the highest levels of the company and was corrected by Tuesday; and we have essentially turned off the feature that provided the e-mail addresses.

The person or group who discovered this gap did not contact AT&T.

We are continuing to investigate and will inform all customers whose e-mail addresses and ICC IDS may have been obtained.

We take customer privacy very seriously and while we have fixed this problem, we apologize to our customers who were impacted.

Comments

[themasterspeaks]

10:34 AM on 06/11/2010

Everyone who has seen James Cameron's earliar blockbuster TITANIC recalls
how lucky people felt who were able to get on board this behemoth
'UNSINKBLE' glory of the age. One senses likewise how luck people are going
to feel to get a good spot in line to get their new WRAP AROUND ANTENNAE
iphone4s. What do these two things have in common? Human beings are
extrordinarily gullible................Think about it.....thousands of people crossing
the Atlantic through a torrent of gigantic icebergs at full throttle in the middle of the night......
thousands who had lined up for their tickets....
....................................................is history going to repeat itself?

[themasterspeaks]

08:19 AM on 06/11/2010

its good news to see the feds are looking into the ATT PRIVATE DATA GUSHER IN DALLAS;
hopefully they will also be looking at the WRAP AROUND ANTENNAE on iphone4
and have a recommendation about
the BEST HAZMAT SUITS TO USE when using it to minimize CHROMOSOME DAMAGE
to your cells

[themasterspeaks]

09:36 AM on 06/11/2010

MY own sense of this radiation problem with the iphone4 is that its
going to be recommend they not be used by minors under l8 or sold
to them, AND THAT given they are DANGEROUS
CONTROL of them will be turned over to
................... ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, AND FIREARMS,
SO

THIS agency would CHANGE its initils from ATF to ATFip4

Thankfully Congress is in session so it may be necessary to pass EMERGENCY LEGISLATION
PROHIBITING THEIR USE IN PUBLIC given how hazardous they are. Also it will have to be determined if the HEALTH INSURANCE INDUSTRY WILL COVER
iphone 4 owners given the unknown risks and extremely expensive nature of care. perhaps
the public option should be taken up and passed to cover the iphone debacle about to happen

[themasterspeaks]

07:01 AM on 06/11/2010

At the recent Steveorama he was using his new WRAP AROUND ANTENNAE iphone4
but not wearing a hazmat suit. Given the clear Radiation danger from such an antennae,
only a crackpot would fail to wear protective clothing. Someone who knows Steve
should remind him about this -- there are a wide variety of hazmat suits available
in quite a few colors and sizes. I am sure he can afford one. Everyone is wondering
if Apple Stores and Walmart are going to have a complete line of styles and colors,
or just minimum design and black and white to go along with the color of the phone.
By the end of the month people will be sitting at Cafes on Rodeo Dr. and Ocean Blvd.
and Christopher St. in their WONDERFUL HAZMAT SUITS using their new iphone4s
chatting away. Its going to be an entire new market-- designer radiation-proof
HAZMAT SUITS in innumerable colors and cuts....a new billion dollar market domestically.
And internationally, well....its going to be incredible. I can see AbuDabi now with
all sorts of Arabic designs....almost like burkas......and in Rio, special ones for the BEACHES.... On the Gulf Coast everyone will be ready for iphone4 as they will
already be wearing their HAZMAT SUITS after the first hurricane.....

[themasterspeaks]

04:58 PM on 06/10/2010

EVERYONE is wondering if Apple is going to cover up the leak
as BP did for the first several weeks after the rig melted into the sea.
Is the LEAK limited to just 3g ipaders, as the BP was just a 1000 barrels
a day? You have to be naive to accept this at face value inasmuch
its very probable the LEAK MAY WELL EXTEND TO ALL IPHONES
USING ATT. This would not be at all surprising given
the cover up now in effect.......the truth is the oil leaks is about 40
times the original 1000. Could the ATT LEAK EXTEND TO 40 times
the 100,000 ipad accounts? Thinking about it, you realize ATT HAS
just about as much cridibility at BP....having been lying and lying and
lying for years about their coverage....demanding exteme penalties...and
just before the new iphone annoucing unlimited connectivity was all over...
Who trusts BP or ATT about anything at all? Apple's partner drags it down and down into the mire of nothingness..........

[themasterspeaks]

05:49 PM on 06/10/2010

Everyone is also very concerned with the radiation problem in the new design of the iphone 4
where the antennae now wraps around the phone and is clearly prima facie likely to cause
problems for extensive users for the mouth, cheek, brow, ears, brain, and hands who do not
use headsets. I am waiting to see data from the regulators who watch over things for us, and APPLE, about the RISKS involved with this kind of external antennae, especially because
of the likely contact to the skin....things like tumors and skin cancer, etc.
In the meantime I have been shopping for a HAZMAT suit and am happy to report
that when i first buy an iphone4 I am only going to use it when I have the suit on
because it turns out some of the suits for sales are radiation-proof. You would think
Apple would offer these special kinds of suits in a package deal along with iphone and
the ATT contract, so when you leave the store you can just SUIT UP and immediately
start using the iphone 4, with no fear of coming down with e.g. a brain tumor which
could indeed ruint your day. I want to get a white suit to match my white super thin
wrap around antennae IPHONE 4 COMING IN TWO SHORT WEEKS.

[JWoode]

11:43 PM on 06/10/2010

huh.. iphones affect the brain.. well.. that explains it.

[buddhistMonkey]

05:05 AM on 06/11/2010

((( "In the meantime I have been shopping for a HAZMAT suit and am happy to report
that when i first buy an iphone4 I am only going to use it when I have the suit on
because it turns out some of the suits for sales are radiation-proof." )))

Here's a tip: you don't need to wear the whole suit, just the helmet. Even then, you don't need to wear a store-bought helmet. You can fashion a hat that's just as effective out of household materials -- like tinfoil, for example.

[oneseagreen]

10:56 AM on 06/10/2010

please stop making the headlines so 'sensational' and more relevant to the story

[David Wonderly]

09:53 AM on 06/10/2010

If there was any question why I didn't change to AT&T to get the iPad... I think those are anwsered now.

[Cheesedog]

10:05 AM on 06/10/2010

Yeah, I was on the edge of my chair...

[David Wonderly]

10:14 AM on 06/10/2010

This is almost as good as AT&T dropping the ball with Steve Jobs with the iPhone4... If there wont be a Cell network change now, I don't think it will ever happen.

[Louisknyc]

11:29 AM on 06/10/2010

Have you stopped using Google as they collect and sell data on you?

[Jenni Gahr Schmidt]

09:16 AM on 06/10/2010

Ah, so much for Apple products being virus-proof... the more popular they get, the more hacked they will become.

[David Wonderly]

09:54 AM on 06/10/2010

Um, it's not an Apple issue. It's an AT&T issue. Read the article again. "Only 3G-enabled iPads, which are connected to AT&T's 3G network, seem to have been affected."

[Louisknyc]

11:29 AM on 06/10/2010

Duh..this is AT&T , not Apple. Sheesh.

[Cryostatic]

07:20 AM on 06/10/2010

Goatse.

Really.

Sure this doesn't belong in the comedy section?

[zxrod]

11:46 AM on 06/10/2010

Or tag the headline with 'Horror' like they love to do here?

[themasterspeaks]

07:11 AM on 06/10/2010

EVERYONE around the world is laughing at Apple 'SMILE' advertisement
knowing Apple prefers putting 40 Billion in the bank than invest in SECURITY
for its customers....SMILING ABOUT THE EXODUS TO ANDROID
where I WOULD think GOOGLE
would wisely ASK TINA FOR THE RIGHTS

ANDROID....I call you when I need you, my heart's on fire
You come to me, come to me wild and wired
Mmm, you come to me
Give me everything I need
Give me a lifetime of promises and a world of dreams
Speak a language of love like you know what it means
Mmm, it can't be wrong
Take my heart and make it strong, baby

You're simply the best, better than all the rest

[facepalm12]

07:38 AM on 06/10/2010

To think, if you had the same passion in life for something that mattered as you do for phones.

[themasterspeaks]

08:16 AM on 06/10/2010

i am reading up right now on cellphones and cancer, and the role of the antennae; you would think there would be major concern about this new fangled iphone4 with its external antennae all over the place....on the cheek, mouth, brow, ear, hands.....and now
by direct contact.....makes you wonder if
this is going to be
worse
than those
TANNING STUDIOS in causing tons of problems for heavy users who lack a headset
of some kind. PERHAPS THIS is someething being passionate about. i don't have
time i have to finish my my book FROM NAPLES TO CUPERTINO; THE GREAT
GODFATHERS

[JohnSawyer]

08:16 AM on 06/10/2010

Nobody could call YOU a fanboi of any sort! :)

Sounds like you have another kind of android...

[themasterspeaks]

08:21 AM on 06/10/2010

its odd how the imagery of the old flash gordon serials and the androids
lingers.....i liked your analysis of the this whole flap earliar...good stuff...
but i suspect this is just the prelude.....its fun to be living in interesting times

[themasterspeaks]

06:35 AM on 06/10/2010

This is great fun for all Apple skeptics around the world because it shatters the mythology
coming on the heals of the disasterous Steveorama iphone4 demo that totally failed....the
mythology that Apple is the performance/security company above and beyond everyone and everything else. I say great fun because you have to have a sense of humor when it comes
to insane monolithic organizations which go against the grain of open advanced western civilization ---. Why would a chipmunk want to put all its goodies in just one
spot, like Cupertino, which has no respect for 4th amendment rights. They wouldn't. Yet
people are willing to have Apple KNOW which books they buy and where they surf and who they call................................................chipmunks are smarter than people sometimes.....

[Louisknyc]

11:34 AM on 06/10/2010

Master: this is an AT&T issue, not an Apple issue. My wifi iPad was unaffected. I'm more concerned with Google's felonious collection of personal data than I am this. You should be as well. Your master is getting into some serious trouble.

[themasterspeaks]

12:49 PM on 06/10/2010

As usual, you appear IGNORANT and dismissive and then begin
using legalese like 'felonious' to talk about Google which anyone
with a 3 digit iq recognizes as equivalent to NONSENSE
.......OF COURSE ITS APPLE PROBLEM and a very large one
inasmuch there is a massive COVER UP in effect and the
real leak like that in the gulf is of unknown proportions and depth
and signirficance..........................apple bots and their
what me worry MAD progaganda of which you are an
exemplar par excellence is
just
bottom feeders realizing there is a deeper bottom
and denying it...swallowing jobs BS is your main nutrient

[KriTiKiT]

03:43 AM on 06/10/2010

yeah and they wondered why I wouldn't give them MY ID or pay with my card and wanted to pay in cash.

[javajava]

08:46 AM on 06/10/2010

chuckle

[shivasquest]

02:34 AM on 06/10/2010

Why Are iPad Factory Workers Killing Themselves?

Apr 15, 2010 ... Saving money with slave labor seems to be a bit ineffective, ..... Products Made in Chinese Prison Camps Illegally Exported to U.S. ...
humantrafficking.change.org/.../why_are_ipad_factory_workers_killing_themselves - Cached

[JohnSawyer]

08:21 AM on 06/10/2010

Yes, I'm curious too why those Dell, HP, etc. factory workers are killing themselves.

But seriously, have you read any objective analyses of those suicides? It doesn't seem like it. Leaning only on Apple to try to do something about it, is far less effective than leaning on all the companies that use these factories. You DO want to see conditions in these factories improve, don't you?

[DaMojo]

10:45 AM on 06/10/2010

They are killing themselves because they are being worked to death for $140 a month.
Americans can't seem to make it on $140 a day. If they ever form unions, these companies will migrate to the next source of cheap labor....Africa. Just like they migrated out of America. It's a world of supply to our demands based on our credit limits.

[Realityism]

01:43 PM on 06/10/2010

A bit defensive today, fanboy?

Apple has created a mythology about itself. This flies in the face of that mythology, and they get more media attention than anyone else, so they are the most effective Foxconn customers to target for criticism.

[maxben]

08:45 AM on 06/10/2010

I hate Apple, but that is irrelevant.

[shivasquest]

02:38 PM on 06/10/2010

Only if you have no soul.Dont worry you have lots of company.

[greeneyes51654m]

02:19 AM on 06/10/2010

It's a good thing I didn't buy one.

[LenoFan]

02:16 AM on 06/10/2010

iPad + AT&T - what can go bad?

[Ashton Johnson]

02:15 AM on 06/10/2010

Goatse security? For the lulz indeed.

[Mannerjaa]

04:39 AM on 06/10/2010

They are specialised for anything that has something to do with CYA. lol