This story just keeps getting more interesting. It looks like one of the main hackers in the AT&T/iPad breach has been arrested on unrelated drug charges.
Andrew Auernheimer, 24, was arrested Tuesday for possession of a controlled substance which included cocaine, ecstasy, LSD, and schedule 2 and 3 pharmaceuticals. Law enforcement officials discovered this while executing a search warrant but it didn’t disclose what the warrant was for.
Now, the real question is: how did the iPad breach tie into this arrest? Auernheimer is a key figure of the Goatse Security group, which was able to discover a vulnerability in AT&T’s servers regarding iPad 3G users. While AT&T has apologized to its users, this vulnerability exposed the e-mails and AT&T ID of many high-profile figures including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Goatse said it disclosed this flaw to AT&T through back channels before going public but AT&T isn’t corroborating that story. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is now looking into the issue to see if there was any wrongdoing.
The issue is filled with many ethical and legal gray matters, as one could argue that Goatse’s disclosure (if it truly happened) is a good thing because it shines a light on a gaping security flaw that needs to be fixed. At first, it was just thought the iPad 3G owners’ e-mails would be exposed but now we’re hearing rumblings that malicious entities could potentially spoof a cell tower location and read all the data on the tablet. How valuable do you think having all the information from a White House official’s iPad would be?
On the other hand, if the actions were illegal and potentially damaging to AT&T, then the proper legal process should continue. We’ll be sure to keep our eyes on this one and feel free to let us know what you think in the comments.
[Via CNET]