Hacker pleads guilty over AT&T-iPad breach (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A computer hacker pleaded guilty to helping write malicious code that let him breach AT&T Inc servers and steal personal data belonging to 120,000 Apple Inc iPad subscribers, U.S. prosecutors said.

Daniel Spitler, 26, admitted to one count of conspiracy to gain unauthorized access to computers and one count of identity theft at a Thursday hearing before U.S. District Judge Susan Wigenton in Newark, New Jersey federal court.

Spitler could face a 12- to 18-month prison term under federal sentencing guidelines, which a judge need not follow. The San Francisco resident is free on bail, and his sentencing is scheduled for September 28.

Prosecutors in January accused Spitler and codefendant Andrew Auernheimer, 25, of using an "account slurper" to conduct a "brute force" attack over five days last June to extract data about iPad users who used the Internet through AT&T's network.

According to prosecutors, Spitler admitted to being a member of Goatse Security, a group of "self-professed Internet 'trolls'" who try to disrupt online content and services.

They said Auernheimer was also affiliated with Goatse, and that creators of the account slurper leaked stolen email addresses and other data to the website Gawker.

Possible victims of the hacking included public figures such as New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, anchor Diane Sawyer of Walt Disney Co's ABC News, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, prosecutors said.

NOT A COMPETITIVE SPORT

"Computer hackers are exacting an increasing toll on our society, damaging individuals and organizations to gain notoriety for themselves," U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman in New Jersey said in a statement. "Daniel Spitler's guilty plea is a timely reminder of the consequences of treating criminal activity as a competitive sport."

Susan Cassell, a lawyer representing Spitler, said any 26-year-old in her client's position "will be deeply saddened by the process, especially when his goal was to benefit the public by exploiting a security breach that, if left unaddressed, could have led to far more serious consequences."

Auernheimer is a Fayetteville, Arkansas, resident charged with the same crimes as Spitler. He was granted bail in February, and his case is pending.

Candace Hom, a federal public defender representing Auernheimer, was not immediately available for comment.

AT&T was Apple's partner in the United States to provide wireless service on the iPad. After the hacking, it shut off the feature that allowed email addresses to be obtained.

The case is U.S. v. Spitler, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey, No. 11-mj-04022.

(Reporting by Jeremy Pelofsky in Washington, D.C. and Jonathan Stempel in New York; editing by Gerald E. McCormick, Phil Berlowitz)

Leak of security breach threat at Pranab's office embarrasses Congress - India Today

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The leakage of a report on fears that the offices of finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and his aides were bugged has deeply embarrassed the Congress.

For the beleaguered party and the UPA government, the report on the alleged "spying" of Mukherjee, who is number two in the Manmohan Singh government and heads over three dozen Groups of Ministers on various important policy issues, has come at a time when there are whispers of a disconnect between the Prime Minister and his senior cabinet colleagues.

The bugging attempt has spun various conspiracy theories in the corridors of power linking to the trust deficit between the top three - the PM, the finance minister and the home minister.

According to the report, Mukherjee on September 7 last year wrote to Manmohan Singh to order a quiet probe into what he reportedly felt was a "serious breach of security" in his office. Confirming a part of the episode, Mukherjee told reporters that the Intelligence Bureau (IB) had investigated the reported bugging in his offices and found nothing.

Discounting the theory of involvement of high-level personnel in the operation, the baffled Congress responded by spinning wild stories about who could have been responsible.

While a senior AICC leader suspected the hand of a corporate house, some others said it could be someone interested in manipulating the stock market. Another hinted at a China angle.

This leader said the possibility of such a scenario being envisaged was rooted in the incident involving the hacking of computer networks in some countries by the Chinese. Another leader alleged that "some RSS moles", either in the finance ministry or the home ministry, might have done it to "defame the government".

Officially, the Congress declined to comment on the issue. Spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said: "Mukherjee himself has responded. The party has nothing to add." But the BJP asked the government to come clean on the episode.

"It is a serious matter. If what has come to light is true, then it needs to be investigated. This has come at a time when there are so many cases of financial irregularities and scams," BJP vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said. "Mukherjee is No. 2 in the cabinet. Who in the government is bugging its own ministers? This raises a lot of disturbing questions," he said.

When asked to respond to the BJP charge that the bugging was the result of differences between Mukherjee and P. Chidambaram, Natarajan said the BJP was in the habit of hurling "baseless and unfounded" allegations.

"There is no need to respond to that," she said.