Comunicazione ufficiale di AT&T agli utenti iPad statunitensi

AT&T, in seguito al problema di sicurezza il quale ha permesso a un gruppo di hacker di carpire più di 100.000 indirizzi email di Utenti iPad 3G negli USA, invia un messaggio ufficiale in cui spiega le cause dell’accaduto e si scusa con i clienti.

Il messaggio, firmato da Dorothy Attwood, senior vice president e chief privacy officer di AT&T, conferma che il problema è stato causato da un buco che ha permesso agli hacker, attraverso il codice ICC-ID delle micro-SIM, di arrivare a conoscere gli indirizzi e-mail.

Attwood assicura che nessun altro dato sensibile è finito nelle mani degli hacker: “L’indirizzo e-mail associato al codice ICC-ID è stata l’unica informazione accessibile. Password, Account, i contenuti dei messaggi e qualsiasi altra informazione personale non sono mai state a rischio”.

Per quanto riguarda il gruppo di hacker, che si è battezzato “Goatse Security“, in un post sul blog ufficiale un portavoce scrive che “Tutti i dati erano pubblicati su un server pubblico senza alcuna protezione password e quindi disponibili a chiunque su Internet”.

Il portavoce del gruppo scrive inoltre che l’azione è stata portata a termine per “proteggere gli Utenti” e che l’unica persona a cui sono stati inviati gli indirizzi è stato il giornalista del Blog Gawker, il quale aveva dato in esclusiva la notizia.

Di seguito, il testo del messaggio di AT&T:

Dear Valued AT&T Customer,

Recently there was an issue that affected some of our customers with AT&T 3G service for iPad resulting in the release of their customer e-mail addresses. I am writing to let you know that no other information was exposed and the matter has been resolved. We apologize for the incident and any inconvenience it may have caused. Rest assured, you can continue to use your AT&T 3G service on your iPad with confidence.

Here’s some additional detail:

On June 7 we learned that 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 e-mail 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 e-mail 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 e-mail addresses. They then put together a list of these e-mails and distributed it for their own publicity.

As soon as we became aware of this situation, we took swift action to prevent any further unauthorized exposure of customer email addresses. Within hours, AT&T disabled the mechanism that automatically populated the e-mail address. Now, the authentication page log-in screen requires the user to enter both their e-mail address and their password.

I want to assure you that the e-mail address and ICC-ID were the only information that was accessible. Your password, account information, the contents of your e-mail, and any other personal information were never at risk. The hackers never had access to AT&T communications or data networks, or your iPad. AT&T 3G service for other mobile devices was not affected.

While the attack was limited to e-mail address and ICC-ID data, we encourage you to be alert to scams that could attempt to use this information to obtain other data or send you unwanted email. You can learn more about phishing by visiting the AT&T website.

AT&T takes your privacy seriously and does not tolerate unauthorized access to its customers’ information or company websites. We will cooperate with law enforcement in any investigation of unauthorized system access and to prosecute violators to the fullest extent of the law.

AT&T acted quickly to protect your information – and we promise to keep working around the clock to keep your information safe. Thank you very much for your understanding, and for being an AT&T customer.

Sincerely,

Dorothy Attwood
Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Chief Privacy Officer for AT&T