iPad Shocker: Security Breach Exposes 100,000

More than 100,000 iPad owners were victims of a security breach, which left sensitive data belonging to early buyers of the device vulnerable. It’s estimated that about 114,000 people—many of them political and financial leaders who were among the first to purchase Apple’s popular new product—had their e-mail addresses exposed, as well as IDs used to authenticate subscribers on AT&T’s network. This is cause for concern as hackers can use this information to gain insight into possible victims.

At&T has admitted, identified and closed the security breach, but the issue is troubling for a new device that relies on one carrier for its data plans. And the relative ease in which the data was obtained should have owners (and potential owners) concerned about their data security.

The group responsible, Goatse Security, merely used AT&T’s website to obtain e-mail addresses. By entering an ICC-ID associated with each iPad (which can be guessed), the site relayed back an e-mail address automatically. The group then wrote a simple script and obtained more data. At&T recognized the breach only when the group themselves told them about it.

Among those whose data was compromised were executives at companies such as HBO, Time Warner, Dow Jones and Citigroup, as well as the Department of Defense and major service branches.

While AT&T insists that “only” e-mail addresses were vulnerable, customers will be mindful of the issue when logging on with their iPads. Future customers will also consider the ramifications of depending on AT&T to keep their data secure as the iPad remains popular and the company retains its exclusivity agreement with Apple.