AT&T data breach Weev

1 at&t data breach

1.1 investigation
1.2 indictment
1.3 conviction vacated

at&t data breach

auernheimer member of group of computer experts known goatse security exposed flaw in at&t security allowed e-mail addresses of ipad users revealed. contrary first claimed, group revealed security flaw gawker media before at&t had been notified, , exposed data of 114,000 ipad users, including of celebrities, government , military. group s actions rekindled public debate on disclosure of security flaws. auernheimer maintains goatse security used common industry standard practices , has said tried guys . jennifer granick of electronic frontier foundation has defended methods used goatse security.

investigation

the fbi opened investigation incident, led criminal complaint in january 2011.

shortly after investigation opened, auernheimer s home in arkansas raided fbi , local police. fbi search related investigation of at&t security breach, auernheimer subsequently detained on state drug charges. police allege that, during execution of search warrant related at&t breach, found cocaine, ecstasy, lsd, , schedule 2 , 3 pharmaceuticals. released on $3,160 bail pending state trial. after release on bail, broke gag order protest maintained violations of civil rights. in particular, disputed legality of search of house , denial of access public defender. asked donations via paypal, defray legal costs.

in january 2011, drug-related charges dropped following auernheimer s arrest federal authorities. u.s. justice department announced charged 1 count of conspiracy access computer without authorization , 1 count of fraud. although co-defendant, daniel spitler, released on bail, auernheimer denied bail because of unemployment , lack of family member host him. incarcerated in federal transfer center, oklahoma city before being released on $50,000 bail in late february 2011. federal grand jury in newark, new jersey, indicted auernheimer 1 count of conspiracy gain unauthorized access computers , 1 count of identity theft in july 2011. in september 2011 free on bail , raising money legal defense fund.

indictment

on november 20, 2012, auernheimer found guilty of 1 count of identity fraud , 1 count of conspiracy access computer without authorization. auernheimer wrote appeal ruling. alex pilosov, friend present ruling, wrote auernheimer remain free on bail until sentencing, @ least 90 days out.

on november 29, 2012, auernheimer wrote article in wired entitled forget disclosure – hackers should keep security holes themselves, advocating disclosure of zero-day exploit individuals use in interests of social justice.

in january 2013 techcrunch article, likened prosecution of aaron swartz, writing

[...]aaron dealt indictment badly because thought part of special class of people didn t happen to. rundown shack in arkansas. spent many years thinking people families got better treatment me. realize truth: beast monstrous devour all.

on march 18, 2013, after being found guilty of identity fraud , conspiracy access computer without authorization, auernheimer sentenced 41 months in federal prison , ordered pay $73,000 in restitution. prior sentencing, posted ask me thread on reddit; comments such hope give me maximum, people rise , storm docks , regret being nice enough give at&t chance patch before dropping dataset gawker. won t nice next time cited prosecution next day in court justification sentence.

later in march 2013, civil rights lawyer , george washington university law school faculty orin kerr joined auernheimer s legal team, free of charge.

auernheimer serving sentence @ federal correctional institution, allenwood low, low-security federal prison in pennsylvania, , scheduled release in january 2016. on july 1, 2013, auernheimer s legal team filed brief third circuit court of appeals, arguing auernheimer s convictions should reversed because had not violated relevant provisions of computer fraud , abuse act.

conviction vacated

on april 11, 2014, third circuit issued opinion vacating auernheimer s conviction, on basis venue in new jersey improper. while judges did not address substantive question on legality of site access, skeptical of original conviction, noting no circumvention of passwords had occurred , publicly accessible information obtained. released prison on april 11, 2014.