Posted by Christopher Lyons on Mon, Jun 14, 2010 @ 01:35 PM
If your business makes use of iPads with 3G, you may want to invest a better
anti-spam solution. According to a letter issued from AT&T's Senior Vice President, "
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 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 and 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 in the log-in screen." AT&T's Vice President then goes on to say that the hackers were able to capture email addresses and put together a list to use for their own publicity. The FBI is currently investigating this security breach and information exposure, and trying to figure out what may have been done with the data that was stolen.
If you have an iPad with 3G service, be sure to keep an eye out for suspicious emails. AT&T has stated that they expect this breach, if anything, to increase targeted spam to those whose information had been stolen. This spam will most likely include some sort of phishing attack to try to get additional personal information from the victim. Be careful when reading emails, don't click on suspicious links, and be hesitant about giving out any sort of personal information. Also, you may want to look into an anti-spam solution, such as Google's Postini, which we here at Mosaic are authorized to sell at discounted rates. If you're organization is getting too much spam, regardless of whether or not it is related to the AT&T debacle, Postini is the solution to your problem. Contact us today to find out more about Postini, or signup for a free trial of Postini!