AT&T Points Finger At 'Malicious' Hackers In Apple iPad Breach

AT&T has told users of the 3G version of the widely popular Apple iPad that their email addresses were released due to the work of malicious hackers who took advantage of AT&T attempting to update its Website log-in process.

The breach exposed the email address of at least 114,000 users of the 3G version of the Apple iPad, which runs on AT&T's cellular network.

AT&T reached out to affected users, apologizing for the lapse and promising to aid in the investigation and the prosecution of those responsible for the breach.

"AT&T takes your privacy seriously and does not tolerate unauthorized access to its customers' information or company Web sites," AT&T wrote, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

According to the report, AT&T sent the email to the nearly 114,000 iPad 3G users who were affected by the leak, which exposed users' email addresses and the integrated circuit card identifier (ICC-ID) numbers that identifies an iPad's user on AT&T's network. No other personal data or account information was leaked or at risk, AT&T said.

The breach occurred when a group of hackers, known as Goatse Security, exploited a security flaw on an AT&T Web application that enabled them to obtain a list of customer e-mail addresses for a personal ID, the ICC-ID. The ICC-ID is associated with the SIM card and is used to specifically identify iPad and other mobile device's customers. Information regarding the hack was first published by Gawker.

AT&T patched the security hole on June 8 and told affected users June 9 about the breach.

The AT&T-Apple iPad security breach has sparked an FBI investigation. The FBI last week contacted Gawker and requested it hold onto documents pertaining to the breach, which includes a list of high-profile executives, celebrities and government and military officials.