I tell you, this whole thing would make for a pretty good spy movie if it weren’t for the fact that it would just be a bunch of people sitting around computers. Maybe add a plane fight or something. The FBI now says it was not the source of all those stolen Apple device IDs that the hacker collective known as AntiSec seems to have purloined. The Feds say the IDs (which are identifiers on the devices, not user account names or passwords) could not have been taken from them because they never received nor asked for such information from Apple in the first place.
From Bloomberg:
Besides the identification numbers, the information posted by AntiSec has the name that a person chooses to name their device and a description of whether the device is an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
If linked with other information such as a name or address, the numbers could be used as a way to get at other more sensitive data. But knowing the number doesn’t enable the FBI to track or eavesdrop on people.
There seems to be consensus that the IDs are legit. The question now is who had them in the first place? AntiSec says it was the FBI, FBI says not us. Someone is lying or deeply confused. I nominate Nicolas Cage to play the AntiSec hacker and John Turturro to play the FBI agent who may be hiding a SECRET or possibly NOT AT ALL.
There’s a lot happening in the world. Through it all, Marketplace is here for you.
You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible.
Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.
