AT&T blames 'hackers' for iPad security breach

Apple 3G iPad owners heard directly from AT&T in an e-mail Sunday evening about last week's security breach that exposed the e-mail addresses of iPad users.

AT&T places the blame squarely on "unauthorized computer 'hackers," in a letter obtained by the New York Times.

Last week, a group known as Goatse Security revealed it had used a program on the AT&T Web site to expose 114,000 e-mail addresses of iPad users.

Dorothy Attwood, a senior vice president and chief privacy officer at AT&T, apologized to users and accused Goatse Security of making the breach "for their own publicity."

Goatse has fired back, arguing that it only exploited a weakness in AT&T's system to warn users that their private information was vulnerable. Goatse said that anyone, without using a password, could have obtained the information. In a blog post, Goatse Security wrote:

When we disclosed this, we did it as a service to our nation. We love America and the idea of the Russians or Chinese being able to subvert American infrastructure is a nightmare. We understand that good deeds many times go punished, and AT&T is trying to crucify us over this.

So, who will customers blame: AT&T for allowing the security hole to exist in the first place--or the hackers for revealing it?