Prediction: Media Will Be Angrier About AT&T Breach than Illegal Wiretapping

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Anyone want to bet that Rahm Emanuel will be more incensed that AT&T made his Gmail address vulnerable than about the illegal wiretapping the telecom did for Dick Cheney?

Apple has suffered another embarrassment. A security breach has exposed iPad owners including dozens of CEOs, military officials, and top politicians. They—and every other buyer of the wireless-enabled tablet—could be vulnerable to spam marketing and malicious hacking.

The breach, which comes just weeks after an Apple employee lost an iPhone prototype in a bar, exposed the most exclusive email list on the planet, a collection of early-adopter iPad 3G subscribers that includes thousands of A-listers in finance, politics and media, from New York Times Co. CEO Janet Robinson to Diane Sawyer of ABC News to film mogul Harvey Weinstein to Mayor Michael Bloomberg. It even appears that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s information was compromised.

And you think the generals and NYT’s overpaid CEO are gonna be a little miffed by the possibility that their data was compromised?

Thing is, AT&T is a shitty company. They’re a shitty company when they don’t take precautions to protect customer data. And they’re a shitty company when they agree to continue a lucrative wiretap program without even demanding proof that the Attorney General approved the program.

I just hope this stupid data compromise makes the MOTUs with their 3G iPads think a little bit about all the ways AT&T sucks.

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56 replies
  1. BoxTurtle says:

    Perhaps some folks will stop using those bricks, but not enough to make a difference. The MOTU’s will still make their stock buying decisions based on money, not ethics.

    The most it’ll cost Apple or ATT is a few rounds of drinks at the next MOTU picnic.

    Boxturtle (And it won’t have the slightest effect on current or future employment of any executive)

    • PJEvans says:

      And the countdown to the ‘we’re sorry, we won’t do it again’ non-apology is about five minutes behind that.

      (For some reason, people also think that Apple is one of the good guys.)

      • qweryous says:

        So long as the campaign contributions are included with the non apology, all will be forgiven wrt to this event mistake
        fundraising event.

  4. MadDog says:

    OT – Via the ACLU:

    …As part of the ongoing FOIA lawsuit, the ACLU late Tuesday received several documents from the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of Justice. The disclosures include a number of detainee policy documents from the early years of the Bush administration, including a 2004 document describing “Global Screening Criteria for Detainees” used to determine who – no matter where they were captured – could be detained as an enemy combatant and which detainees could be transferred to Guantánamo. Also just turned over to the ACLU are Obama-era records including policy guidance from February 2010 regarding access to detainees and facilities by non-DOD government officials, foreign governments, members of the media and representatives of non-governmental organizations that confirms non-DOD agents can visit detainees at Bagram in order to interrogate them. The DOD also disclosed its policy regarding the waiver of autopsy requirements for detainee deaths…

    The document referred to is here (136 page PDF).

    • Jeff Kaye says:

      Thanks, MadDog. Great stuff. I’m too dogged to read tonight, and too busy next two days, but you’ve provided me my weekend reading.

      • pdaly says:

        Jeff, great work on the series of articles about Appendix M and US’s experimentation on GWOT prisoners.
        I’m forwarding links to a university dean of social sciences (and APA member) I used to work with to alert him, in case he is not aware of this yet.

  6. b2020 says:

    Hey, it’s BlowJobs chosen partner for his noxious cloud computing and Information Age TV pads, so all those heroes of DRM and surveillance get what they deserve.

  7. MadDog says:

    More OT – From Josh Rogin over at The Cable:

    Yesterday, we reported that the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee were resisting the nomination of James Clapper to become the next director of national intelligence because he had argued in an April 28 memo against strengthening that very position.

    Today, we have obtained a copy of the memo (4 page pdf), which is entitled, “Discussion Draft: Provisions for FY2010 Intelligence Authorization Act that would expand DNI authorities over leadership and management of DOD’s intelligence components.”

    The paper, written by Clapper’s staff, but not signed by Clapper himself, spells out 17 concerns that the Pentagon apparently had with the intelligence policy bill making its way through Congress. It’s clearly an attempt to defend the secretary of defense’s authority over defense intelligence agencies against what the memo’s writers see as encroachment by the Office of the DNI…

    [snip]
    …So what’s the big deal about this memo?

    The White House is arguing that Clapper is not against a stronger role for the DNI and also that the paper does not represent his personal views on the role of the DNI. As White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel told Sen. Kit Bond when defending Clapper, “Where he stands is where he sits.”

    The White House is pushing back hard against Feinstein and Bond’s assertion that Clapper doesn’t support a strong DNI, pointing to an article Clapper wrote in February in The Oxford Handbook of National Security Intelligence entitled, “The Role of Defense in Shaping U.S. Intelligence Reform,” where he acknowledges his views about the ODNI have changed over time…

  8. pdaly says:

    Somewhat ontopic: have you noticed, in addition to digby, daniel ellsberg, etc, that “Sr. White House Official” and “BP Public Relations” are following emptywheel on twitter? (right hand margin here on FDL)

    • pdaly says:

      the “on topic” part being that maybe the DC/conglomerates are showing interest in listening outside their DC echo chamber. (To what end I do not know.)

      • ghostof911 says:

        Could be the MOTUs are getting a bit paranoid. It starts with security breaches, folks like digby and marcie then spread the work, and then shit happens. During a major downturn, the hanging of traitors can do wonders for boosting public morale.

    • bobschacht says:

      “Sr. White House Official” and “BP Public Relations” are following emptywheel on twitter?

      Hey, EW, how does that feel? Must be a few mixed emotions there.

      Bob in AZ

  9. rosalind says:

    ot: is there something screwed up over at great orange satan? the lead article right now is by joan mc titled “Dog Bites Man: Dick Cheney’s a liar” but it links to a Mikey Isikoff article from Feb. 20 re. the release of the OPR report.

    something seems off…

  10. bmaz says:

    Meh, more Apple haters. I don’t like ATT, but I love the iPhone. Me and Rahm; we are like this ya know…..

  11. rosalind says:

    early trash talk: whack!

    A two-year bowl ban and a loss of more than 20 football scholarships are among the sanctions that the NCAA has dealt USC, a source with knowledge of the situation said Wednesday.

  12. Leen says:

    that four part report that Fox News reporter Carl Cameron did about telecom companies, Intelligence gathering, data mining, who owns these companies, who is listening and has access is so interesting. Fell off the radar. If you have not watched this four part report worth watching all four reports (do not like how it is labeled)

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7545.htm

    Cameron reports that these systems may have had a back door infiltrated by another country.

  14. Leen says:

    Not so hard to predict that the media will be more upset with this breach than the illegal wiretapping program.

    Just recently they became more wrapped up in Helen Thomas’s insensitive one time comment far more than reporting about 9 Gaza humanitarian activist being loaded up with Israeli soldiers bullets many shot into the back of these activist heads at close range.

    The Gulf of Mexico oil has been coming out of the MSM’s eyes, ears and mouths. Now I know this is a critical issue but somehow what is going on in Iraq, Afghanistan, drones, returning U.S. soldiers seems like it might get just a tiny bit of their attention. But hey thank goodness for places like FDL, Juan Coles, Race for Iran, Washington Note, Glenn Greenwald other wise if we were depending on our MSM all we would know about is the oil spill, where Sarah Palin is and what she is saying.

    If you went out on the streets and asked folks how many Iraqi people are dead based on a pack of lies, they would draw a blank. If you asked them how much oil is coming out of that spewing oil geyser in the bottom of the Gulf they would more than likely know the approximate amount

  16. Margaret says:

    Off topic but it needs to be pointed out:

    BP shares “plunged” in London trading today, “as political pressure mounted over the spill in the Gulf of Mexico and investors were shaken by the prospect that the British oil giant might cut its dividend.” UK business leaders are upset at the criticism the Obama administration is directing at BP, and Prime Minister David Cameron will be speaking with Obama about BP this weekend.

    So here it comes. British pressure to let poor old honest BP off the hook. I mean, who coulda thunk anything like that would happen?
    Linky

    • temptingfate says:

      There are a boat load of big companies and pension funds that have a lot of exposure to PB stock. Blackrock being very high. The protections of the large multinationals comes in part from their poison pill potential. My guess is that the fear of stock market side effects has been the major reason why Team Obama has done so little on this issue. Outside of posturing, that is.

  17. temptingfate says:

    I’m not an Apple hater – I have a bunch of Macs including the one I’m using right now – but the distribution lock-in for iPads and iPhones based on the idea that Apple was doing this to protect the consumer from wayward attacks makes this fine justice. The fact that people can see that they are being compromised has always effected people more when they can see the effect of being snooped on in action.

  18. dakine01 says:

    I just hope this stupid data compromise makes the MOTUs with their 3G iPads think a little bit about all the ways AT&T sucks.

    We do know that fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing

  20. Bluetoe2 says:

    The MSM is nothing but a filter and a conduit for propaganda. The sooner progressive begin attacking the legitimacy of these masters of manipulation the sooner a new and legitimate 4th Estate will be born. The internet and the incipient progressive radio are a beginning but there is a long way to go to reach the “general” public, who still relies on the corporate media for their source of information.

  21. msmolly says:

    AT&T sux, but you’ll pry my 3G iPhone and my MacBook out of my proverbial cold dead hands.

  24. AitchD says:

    I left AT&T’s wireless service shortly after ‘it’ became SunCom in my region, and I switched to CREDO.

    For residential service I have always used AT&T. I recently switched to AT&T’s U-verse for Internet and unlimited phone only (not for the TV) and pay less for it than I did for AT&T’s DSL and unlimited phone.

    During the 30+ years that I’ve subscribed to AT&T (residential and wireless), I have been impressed with their customer relations, technical support, and overall service far more than with any other kind of service, big or small. Really, their services have been extraordinary. Or just call me Lucky.

    I’ve only had Macs but no iBlankies other than an iPod.

    Really way-off topic: If not for AT&T and Apple, I probably wouldn’t know about emptywheel; and it’s via AT&T and Apple that FDL got my $$$ contributions for her efforts and FDL’s efforts.

  25. kyeo says:

    I think a big part of why the illegal wiretapping hasn’t gotten more outrage, aside from lackluster media coverage, is that most people a) are cynical enough to expect things like this from any government, and b) don’t really understand how it affects them personally. Most people probably think, who cares if the FBI is listening in on you giving Aunt Molly your recipe for lemon cake? Sure, it’d be embarrassing to imagine them listening in on phone sex calls and the like, but if the people being recorded never actually suffer adverse affects from it, they’re not going to worry about potential eavesdropping. It’ll take someone actually getting hurt by this in a high-profile way before people really start to care.

  26. mzchief says:

    “Closed architecture” and sole-sourcing is so … so … 1984! Check out Ubuntu 10.04 to support iPod, iPhone, iPad out of the box. If not, notice the difference between “jail break” and “carrier unlock.” On principle, if you believe in and support MoveYourMoney.Info, you should consider Ubuntu and its command line underpinnings. Sure it’s a learning curve but it’s worth it. In general, you should seriously consider unbundling the servicing of your functional requirements and put the monopolies on a diet. No more 2 year contracts, no more credit card payments, no more one-month-in-advance pre-payments (no more reinforcement of those sassy TBTF banks either in the process). Trim their ca$h flow (telephony/Internet services is a huge ca$h extraction biz) if you just don’t cut the cord altogether as there are small, locally-owned wifi cafes that might be far more gracious recipients of your support.

    P.S. If you still need a landline, there is still the legal requirement of an economy package although the telephone company will try to up-sell you something more expensive.

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