iPad’s Security Breach: Apple’s iHumiliation
Oh, Apple…it seems as though the company is on top of the world one day, and the laughing stock of it the next. Mere days after Steve Jobs got on a soap box about Apple’s commitment to the privacy of its consumers, and iPad security breach compromised the personal information of over 100,000 iPad and iPad3G owners. Apparently it doesn’t take social networking it make your email address public anymore. All it takes is an Apple product and usage of the AT&T network!
For a product still in its infancy, (it has been shipping for barely 2 months) a setback like this could greatly negative ramifications. Although the breach appears to be AT&T’s faux pas, it does not change the fact that many prominent figures had their personal information put on public display. Personal emails and user ID information, known as an ICC-ID, were made public. Even the White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, is said to have been a victim, but calls to the White House were not returned. Adding to the embarrassment is the fact that an Apple employee lost an iPhone prototype in a bar just prior to the security issue with the iPad.
The FBI opened an official investigation after AT&T confirmed a breach had occurred, but shaken confidence in a network or product is had to restore. Prospective customers are also likely to be unnerved. When purchasing a product with a price tag of over $800, a customer has certain expectations. One of those expectations, surely, is that their personal information will be kept personal.
Another issue that needs to be addressed is the business relationship between Apple and AT&T. The relationship is already strained, and an incident like this certainly will not help matters. Will Apple take the gamble of remaining on AT&T’s network, or will the company take its iBusiness elsewhere? Can the reputation of the iPad and Apple as a whole be saved? Only time will tell.
