An Apple iPad 3G Security hole breaches personal users' information of at least 114,000 users via data plan carrier AT&T. The FBI has stepped in, not pleased that the AT&T breach includes government agencies and officials such as Homeland Security and military officialas, the White House Chief of Staff, and New York Mayor Bloomberg. The rest of the fallout is no less big: iPad 3G user data was leaked for major players including "dozens of CEOs, military officials, and top politicians," as well as "A-listers in finance, politics and media.
The FBI is investigating the iPad Security Breach--while Gawker has insisted since the beginning, that the Apple iPad user information leaked included big-wigs, it wasn't known quite how big. Apparently those biggies include government officials from the White House staff including Chief of Staff--and Bloomberg.
How did the AT&T Security breach become revealed? Goatse Security, a described web security/"hacking" group, discovered a major security hole that may have compromised personal information of some 114,000 Apple iPad users, says Gawker.
The Apple iPad exposed information may have included iPad users' email addresses and ICC-IDs, a unique ID stored on a SIM card and used to identify a mobile subscriber or enable the user to connect to a mobile network--in this security hole breach, AT&T.
AT&T claims that the only personal Apple iPad 3G user information exposed in the security hole were iPad 3G user email addresses. Gawker insists the Apple iPad 3G user data revealed through the security breach 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 Apple iPads, which can only be connected to AT&T's 3G network through additional data plan, seem to have been affected.
Goatse's probe into the iPad 3G security hole suggests AT&T is at fault, but that Apple could be as well. AT&T has addressed the iPad security data breach issue in "recent days," but only after Goatse alerted AT&T as to the security weakness.
Apple iPad 3G users were reportedly not notified of the security glitch by AT&T.
AT&T issued statement to the Huffington Post: "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 [Apple iPad] device. This [security breach] issue was escalated to the highest levels of the [AT&T] company and [the security breach issue] was corrected by Tuesday; and we have essentially turned off the feature that provided the e-mail addresses."