AT&T e-mail apologizes for iPad data breach

[Peaches]

AT&T e-mail apologizes for iPad data breach

In the e-mail explaining how the breach occurred, Attwood apologized for the breach and said "unauthorized computer 'hackers' maliciously exploited a function designed to make your iPad log-in process faster by pre-populating an AT&T authentication page with the email address you used to register your iPad for 3G service":The self-described hackers wrote software code to randomly generate numbers that mimicked serial numbers of the AT&T SIM card for iPad--called the integrated circuit card identification (ICC-ID)--and repeatedly queried an AT&T web address. When a number generated by the hackers matched an actual ICC-ID, the authentication page log-in screen was returned to the hackers with the email address associated with the ICC-ID already populated on the log-in screen.

The hackers deliberately went to great efforts with a random program to extract possible ICC-IDs and capture customer email addresses. They then put together a list of these emails and distributed it for their own publicity.

Story:

http://news.cnet.com/security/