Apple Developer Center Hack Confirmed: Apple Overhauls Entire Developer System
Last Thursday, members of Apple's developer portal had begun receiving password reset emails en masse, leading us to believe that the service had been breached. In an email sent to members on Sunday, our suspicions have been confirmed.
In the email, Apple states that an intruder managed to get into the system, and while it's not certain at this point, it's not ruling out the fact that the perpetrator could have snagged names, mailing addresses, and email addresses. The company is clear to state that all sensitive information is encrypted, so passwords and potential financial information stored should be considered safe.
;)
While the investigation continues, the company is completely overhauling its developer system, updating its server software and rebuilding its entire database. There's no telling when the service will be able to reopen, but one thing's for certain: this could prove to be one of Apple's worst nightmares, as this site is the heart of developer resources and relations. Because of the issue, Apple assures developers that no apps will expire while the site remains down.
As unfortunate as this event is to Apple's loyal developers, even more unfortunate is that the number of hackings targeted at services like these really seems to be accelerating.
Update: On Twitter, Turkish researcher Ibrahim Balic has taken responsibility for this attack, stating that it was not his intention to make off with data, but instead to make the exploit known and show how Apple is "leaking data". Apple has yet to confirm that Ibrahim is in fact the man responsible.
