iPad - Leak Different.

[Trekker4747]

Surprised I've not seen this posted yet.

NEWS LINK

NEW YORK - The Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened a probe into a security breach of Apple's iPad that exposed personal information of AT&T customers, including those of several high-ranking government officials.

The breach, first reported by the website Gawker, occurred when a group calling itself Goatse Security hacked into AT&T's iPad subscriber data, obtaining a list of e-mail addresses that also included celebrities, chief executives and politicians.

 

[Lindley]

As I understand it the problem was on AT&T's end, not anything specific to the iPad except that it happened to be in software targeted to iPad users.

And a list of email addresses is hardly a national security concern.

 

[Brent]

Hackers, can't stop em!

One good thing comes out of this kinda stuff though, better security. Holes will be fixed, which is good for us.

I'll tell you what's really maddening, telling Mac zealots that their software can be hacked and get viruses too. I know a die hard Mac fan who HATES anything Microsoft, and he says he can't get viruses and whatnot on his Mac software. Yeah, sure, ok. Hard to talk to some people like that. Anything can be hacked if its software and created by man. Whew, sorry, had to rant.

 

[Lindley]

Yes, but in this case the problem had absolutely nothing to do with Apple or Apple hardware:

The problem had to do with the way AT&T's website prompted iPad users to log onto their AT&T accounts.

Frankly I'm a bit mystified why the news is playing up the iPad link. It's a vulnerability in a website.

 

[Brent]

Cause it happened on the iPad I guess, and people want to target it since its new.

 

[Arrqh]

No, it didn't happen on an iPad. The iPad is essentially incidental to the actual events, this was a data breach on AT&T's website.

 

[ALF]

Let's see a posting of those addresses. I'm going to give Chevy Chase a piece of my mind!!

 

[Lindley]

Another article I read on the subject said it was a "whitehat" hacker group who did it anyway, the kind who find these exploits for the specific purpose of getting them closed up. So I doubt the emails are even "out there". There is literally nothing noteworthy here.

 

[Arrqh]

I wouldn't go that far. AT&T is a major company that a lot of people entrust with their personal data. I would say any sort of security breech is noteworthy, regardless of the intent behind it.

 

[Flavius]

Another article I read on the subject said it was a "whitehat" hacker group who did it anyway, the kind who find these exploits for the specific purpose of getting them closed up. So I doubt the emails are even "out there". There is literally nothing noteworthy here.

Those 'Goatse' guys gave the story (and the data) to Gawker Media only, they claim. They did not inform AT&T about the vulnerability directly, but tipped off a third party. Gawker Media, btw owns Gizmodo, the guys that bought and leaked the iPhone 4 prototype. You should read the 'story' that Gawker broke about the hack - its grossly misrepresenting the facts. To me this smells a lot like a revenge hack with the intent to smear Apple and hurt iPad sales.

 

[mswood]

As reported this isn't a hack on the ipad, it was a hack on AT&T. And its amazing how many people took this story as someone actually hacking into an ipad.

And my boyfriend (who works at a Best Buy) got into a discussion with several customers about Apple's (specifically their desktop and laptop line) high rates of viruses, worms, ect.

My boyfriend, nearly died from shock. The customers absolutely did not believe that Macs had less attacks against their systems. They actually had another worker on their laptop pulling up news reports to show them how wrong they were.

 

[STR]

Another article I read on the subject said it was a "whitehat" hacker group who did it anyway, the kind who find these exploits for the specific purpose of getting them closed up. So I doubt the emails are even "out there". There is literally nothing noteworthy here.

Those 'Goatse' guys gave the story (and the data) to Gawker Media only, they claim. They did not inform AT&T about the vulnerability directly, but tipped off a third party. Gawker Media, btw owns Gizmodo, the guys that bought and leaked the iPhone 4 prototype. You should read the 'story' that Gawker broke about the hack - its grossly misrepresenting the facts. To me this smells a lot like a revenge hack with the intent to smear Apple and hurt iPad sales.

I read the article on gizmodo.com itself. Didn't seem like a smear job at all. They did make a comment that allowing such a brute force attack was stupid, because it is, but acknowledged that this is largely much about nothing since the compromised (yes, the word is "compromised", not "leak") information consisted entirely of ICCID/email pairings.

http://gizmodo.com/5559586/should-i-worry-about-the-apple-ipad-%2B-att-security-breach-probably-not

http://gizmodo.com/5559686/the-little-feature-that-led-to-atts-ipad-security-breach

I did laugh at the AT&T rep that said "as we innovate on the provisioning process, reinventing the way we provision service..." it's exactly that kind of inane drivel-that-passes-for-thought that has driven the brand they spent billions to attach to the Cingular network into the ground. That, my friends, is a company running around without a head. It is an excellent example of how random luck and inertia can get you to the top of the world despite yourself.

 

[Trekker4747]

As reported this isn't a hack on the ipad, it was a hack on AT&T. And its amazing how many people took this story as someone actually hacking into an ipad.

And my boyfriend (who works at a Best Buy) got into a discussion with several customers about Apple's (specifically their desktop and laptop line) high rates of viruses, worms, ect.

My boyfriend, nearly died from shock. The customers absolutely did not believe that Macs had less attacks against their systems. They actually had another worker on their laptop pulling up news reports to show them how wrong they were.

Macs and Apples don't have fewer viruses and attacks becuase they're so Awesome Apples, they have fewer attacks because people make fewer viruses for them. When they make viruses the idea is usually one to hurt as many people, and big people, as you can. This means making the viruses for PCs over Apple.

So you could say that Apple computers are so out of the main-stream they can't get negative attention! So they're virus resistant (by no means are they virus-free) because there's few viruses made for them, not just because their software and hardware is so uber.

 

[Flavius]

I read the article on gizmodo.com itself. Didn't seem like a smear job at all....

As I said, Gawker broke the story about Apple's worst security breach. I wonder if Rahm ever called those dip shits back...

Apple's Worst Security Breach: 114,000 iPad Owners Exposed

Apple has suffered another embarrassment. A security breach has exposed iPad owners including dozens of CEOs, military officials, and top politicians. They—and every other buyer of the cellular-enabled tablet—could be vulnerable to spam marketing and malicious hacking. The breach, which comes just weeks after an Apple employee lost an iPhone prototype in a bar, exposed the most exclusive email list on the planet, a collection of early-adopter iPad 3G subscribers that includes thousands of 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. It even appears that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's information was compromised.
It doesn't stop there. According to the data we were given by the web security group that exploited vulnerabilities on the AT&T network, we believe 114,000 user accounts have been compromised, although it's possible that confidential information about every iPad 3G owner in the U.S. has been exposed. We contacted Apple for comment but have yet to hear back. We also reached out to AT&T for comment. [Update: AT&T has confirmed the breach and the FBI has opened an investigation. Updates below.] A call to Rahm Emanuel's office at the White House has not been returned.

Here is the whole thing: http://gawker.com/5559346/apples-worst-security-breach-114000-ipad-owners-exposed

 

[Lindley]

Macs and Apples don't have fewer viruses and attacks becuase they're so Awesome Apples, they have fewer attacks because people make fewer viruses for them. When they make viruses the idea is usually one to hurt as many people, and big people, as you can. This means making the viruses for PCs over Apple.

So you could say that Apple computers are so out of the main-stream they can't get negative attention! So they're virus resistant (by no means are they virus-free) because there's few viruses made for them, not just because their software and hardware is so uber.

Doesn't really matter what the cause is, though. The result is the same, and it's not likely to change in any case.

What I don't understand is why someone hasn't written a devastating Mac virus just to upset the complacency. I certainly don't want it to happen, but you'd think if it were just a matter of obscurity someone would have done it by now. Many Macs don't even have anti-virus software.

 

[clint g]

Macs and Apples don't have fewer viruses and attacks becuase they're so Awesome Apples, they have fewer attacks because people make fewer viruses for them. When they make viruses the idea is usually one to hurt as many people, and big people, as you can. This means making the viruses for PCs over Apple.

So you could say that Apple computers are so out of the main-stream they can't get negative attention! So they're virus resistant (by no means are they virus-free) because there's few viruses made for them, not just because their software and hardware is so uber.

Doesn't really matter what the cause is, though. The result is the same, and it's not likely to change in any case.

What I don't understand is why someone hasn't written a devastating Mac virus just to upset the complacency. I certainly don't want it to happen, but you'd think if it were just a matter of obscurity someone would have done it by now. Many Macs don't even have anti-virus software.

It's probably just a matter of time. As Apple products increase in popularity the chances of this happening will increase. I can even see some sick bastard making one of the iPhone or iPod

 

[Flavius]

Securemac.com is a good place to start reading, should you be interested to educate yourself.

 

[STR]

I read the article on gizmodo.com itself. Didn't seem like a smear job at all....

As I said, Gawker broke the story about Apple's worst security breach. I wonder if Rahm ever called those dip shits back...

Apple's Worst Security Breach: 114,000 iPad Owners Exposed

Apple has suffered another embarrassment. A security breach has exposed iPad owners including dozens of CEOs, military officials, and top politicians. They—and every other buyer of the cellular-enabled tablet—could be vulnerable to spam marketing and malicious hacking. The breach, which comes just weeks after an Apple employee lost an iPhone prototype in a bar, exposed the most exclusive email list on the planet, a collection of early-adopter iPad 3G subscribers that includes thousands of 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. It even appears that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel's information was compromised.
It doesn't stop there. According to the data we were given by the web security group that exploited vulnerabilities on the AT&T network, we believe 114,000 user accounts have been compromised, although it's possible that confidential information about every iPad 3G owner in the U.S. has been exposed. We contacted Apple for comment but have yet to hear back. We also reached out to AT&T for comment. [Update: AT&T has confirmed the breach and the FBI has opened an investigation. Updates below.] A call to Rahm Emanuel's office at the White House has not been returned.

Here is the whole thing: http://gawker.com/5559346/apples-worst-security-breach-114000-ipad-owners-exposed

Let's break this down into its core assertions:

*Email addresses, including those of important individuals who got ipads early, were exposed.
*They are vulnerable to exploitation by spammers and email malware. Just by opening an email, you risk exposing your computer to scripts and viruses. Spammers, well, they deal in email addresses. They don't say someone will be able to steal your SSN, or even shut off your iPad service.
*While 114,000 users were exploited by this group, they didn't have to stop at 114,000 since AT&T wasn't even aware of the brute force attack (because, and trust me on this having worked for them, they do not think ahead well). The entire AT&T iPad user base was vulnerable until AT&T shut off the exploited service.

Only thing wrong was pointing the finger at Apple instead of AT&T in the headline, but the body pointed out AT&T. Aside from that, I really can't see an issue with this. This is fairly standard, matter-of-fact writing common to many articles about e-security breaches. It states the nature of the breach, the potential risk of the breach, and the number of affected users.

 

[Flavius]

The guys that are calling the shots at Gawker & friends are not the sharpest tools in the shed, we knew that already. There are no journalists either. Big deal.

 

[STR]

You call these people slanderers, without proof. Then you pretty much call them stupid, which cannot be proven, and poor journalists, which is subjective. I'm having to wonder, what exactly is your point? You don't like Gawker Media, presumably because of how they (or how they went about) outed the iPhone prototype. Either that, or since that incident, you've been picking up on a deliberate bias that (from where I'm sitting) doesn't appear to exist. That's all I'm getting and I hope it's the latter, as the former is quite shallow.

Please enlighten me, good sir. You have piqued my interest.