Hacker group responds to AT&T, leader held by FBI
You'll remember that the not-at-all-ridiculously-named Goatse Security (GS) announced its discovery of an exploit on AT&T's website last week. They used it to get a list of email addresses belonging to iPad 3G customers. One hundred and fourteen thousand of them, in fact.
AT&T representatives said that they were made aware of the hole and had it patched within a day, and explained their side of the story in the New York Times. Dorothy Attwood, a senior vice president and chief privacy officer at AT&T, said "...unauthorized computer 'hackers' maliciously exploited a function designed to make your iPad log-in process faster."
The folks at GS took umbrage at being called "malicious," and posted their own response, citing still-unpatched vulnerabilities in Mobile Safari on the iPad as evidence that Apple and AT&T are not addressing the real issues. "When we disclosed this," wrote Escher Auernheimer, "we did it as a service to our nation. We love America and the idea of the Russians or Chinese being able to subvert American infrastructure is a nightmare...The fact remains that there was not a hint of maliciousness in our disclosure."
The FBI agrees with Auernheimer's assertion that this exploit is of national interest. So much so, CNET reports, that they raided Andrew Auernheimer's home on a warrant (we assume "Escher" is a pseudonym). They found "illicit drugs," and Auernheimer is now being held on felony charges. Let this be a lesson to you. If you plan on serving your country, get rid of the drugs first.
[via Engadget]
