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Anonymous Leaks 1M Apple Device UDIDs
Orome1 writes "A file containing a million and one record sets containing Apple Unique Device Identifiers (UDIDs) and some other general information about the devices has been made available online by Anonymous hackers following an alleged breach of an FBI computer. 'During the second week of March 2012, a Dell Vostro notebook, used by Supervisor Special Agent Christopher K. Stangl from FBI Regional Cyber Action Team and New York FBI Office Evidence Response Team was breached using the AtomicReferenceArray vulnerability on Java,' the hackers claim."
Update: 09/04 13:44 GMT by T : A piece at SlashCloud points out that if the leak is genuine, this raises some sticky questions about privacy and security; in particular: "[H]ow did the agency obtain said information, and to what purpose? Why did all that personal data reside on the laptop of one special agent?"
Why is that more likely?
You think if the FBI asks Apple or AT&T won't cough up such a list?
Yes, that seems like the larger issue here. What purpose does the FBI Cyber Action team have with 12M Apple UUIDs (from TFA: of which only 1M was leaked so far)?
This actually seems like a care of actual well-meaning hacktivism, as the purpose here is to inform users they are being tracked. It is only a matter of time before the remaining UUIDs are released. Unfortunately, most people have little more tech savvy than a newborn, so it is unlikely many people will even know how to compare their device to the list even if they care to do so.
The best we can hope for is that more of them wake up to the large-scale surveillance being undertaken and the abuse of power it represents. I wish I could be optimistic, but I know better by now.
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."