The FBI has opened a probe into a security breach of Apple Inc’s iPad that exposed personal information of AT&T Inc customers, including those of several high-ranking government officials.
The breach, first reported by the Web site 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.
“The FBI is aware of these possible computer intrusions and has opened an investigation to address the potential cyber threat,” FBI spokesman Jason Pack said on Thursday.
AT&T, which has exclusive US rights to carry the iPad and the popular iPhone, has acknowledged the security breach but said it had corrected the flaw and that only e-mail addresses were exposed to hackers who identified a security weakness.
The iPad, launched in April, has already sold more than 2 million units worldwide. AT&T declined to comment on the FBI investigation.
The quick FBI probe into the security flaw came amid reports of several high-ranking government officials on the list of iPad owners with compromised personal information.
In all, more than 100,000 e-mail addresses are believed to have been exposed. Goatse could not immediately be reached for comment.
Security experts, however, said it was unlikely that other information besides e-mail addresses had been compromised.
Charlie Miller, an analyst with Independent Security Evaluators, argued that the breach had nothing to do with the iPad’s security.
“The actual vulnerability is pretty basic, but the loss of data is not serious, in my opinion. The data on the iPad and the devices themselves were never compromised or vulnerable,” Miller said via e-mail.
George Kurtz, chief technology officer for security software company McAfee, also downplayed the severity of the breach.
“I would guess that this application vulnerability gained so much attention because, after all, it is Apple we are talking about,” Kurtz wrote in a blog post.
“The hype around Apple products — like the new iPhone and iPad — is amazing. However, the reality is this type of vulnerability isn’t really news and happens all day long,” he wrote.
Nonetheless, the security gaffe isn’t likely to help AT&T win any friends among Apple customers. AT&T has been criticized by iPhone users for its network quality.
Still, few people thought the security snafu would hurt AT&T’s relationship with Apple.
“Everybody realizes security is an issue all companies have to deal with,” BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk said. “Apple has endured the reputation of AT&T’s network, which seems to be a much bigger deal.”
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