Apple: Misdirected iMessages due to bad configuration, not a software bug
A report by Jim Dalrymple of The Loop notes that a situation where messages from an Apple Store employee were being directed to another user's iPhone were the result of the employee failing to follow directions while troubleshooting the customer's device.
The employee installed his personal SIM card in the customer's phone, linking the device to his Apple ID account in a way that resulted in his subsequent iMessages, including photos, being relayed to the customer's device.
the report cited Apple representative Natalie Harrison as saying, "this was an extremely rare situation that occurred when a retail employee did not follow the correct service procedure and used their personal SIM to help a customer who did not have a working SIM. This resulted in a temporary situation that has since been resolved by the employee."
Apple noted that to prevent such a situation, users should "toggle iMessage on and off" in the Settings app of any iOS 5 device configured to their Apple ID before it is given away or sold.
iMessageGate
The situation was profiled by Gizmodo as being a "the Apple bug that let us spy on a total stranger's iPhone." The website, notorious for creating and promoting controversies related to Apple with catchy names pattered after the Watergate scandal, actually knew who the stranger was and why it was occurring.
Presumably, it also knew how to stop spying on the Apple employee by turning off access to his account messages. Instead, the site chose to monitor and publish unflattering photos and and personal text conversations of the employee, actions which could expose the author to legal liability related to "publication of private facts" and "misappropriation of name or likeness," a form of privacy invasion.
Gizmodo and its Gawker Media parent previously escaped criminal charges for its role in paying for stolen property and refusing to return it in the case of Apple's iPhone 4 prototype after the San Mateo County district attorney's office decided not to file charges against the group and risk instigating an expensive trial over the rights of members of the media.
District Attorney Steven Wagstaffe did however note that "it was obvious [Gizmodo staff] were angry with the company about not being invited to some press conference or some big Apple event. We expected to see a certain amount of professionalism. This is like 15-year-old children talking," he said.
Wagstaffe added, "there was so much animosity, and they were very critical of Apple. They talked about having Apple right where they wanted them and they were really going to show them."
39 Comments
what say you, gizmodo chen?
It is a bug. The same results happen if you were to sell your phone, or if it's lost or stolen. Below are the details:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/20...rong-place.ars
and on this Apple forum thread...
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16858629#16858629
It is a bug. The same results happen if you were to sell your phone, or if it's lost or stolen. Below are the details:
http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/20...rong-place.ars
and on this Apple forum thread...
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16858629#16858629
Sounds like a bug to me, based on that story.
MobleMe had a way to remove clients from the list of synced devices. I guess that was another feature Apple dropped when they replaced MM with iCloud.
Very worrying that swapping sim cards can do this - automatically.
As a European well accustomed to sim cards, it has historically been a standard behaviour - since the days when mobiles first went 'mass market' - to occassionally swap sims with a friend - when their phone had run out of battery, etc, to let them phone home,etc, on their credit/bill.
You might say that this had changed with the world of the smart phone. However, this 'linking' being an autobehaviour also clearly looks wrong to me for the world of today.
We are heading in the direction of a complete separation of mobile service into just becoming about the local 'connectivity' for your device, and all comunications - messaging (e.g. emails - email provider, tweets - platform provier twitter, iMessage - platform provider apple etc) being completely separate from the mobile operator.
True number separation will take this the next step. Where your number from your 'number host' (who might not offer mobile serivce at all) can have calls pointed at your current mobile service provider, providing the connectivirt in the local country you are in at the time. Enabiling you to use local service providers in all countries you use, saving roaming costs, etc.
And also, regardles of whether at home or abroad, to have multiple numbers (from different providers) delivered to one device (like multiple email accounts from different providers on one device).
The problem is NOT iMessage accounts knowing the mobile numbers they are associated with, the problem is anything that does this automatically.
Afterall, this could suggest that a sim card that is simply alledging a certain phone number (frauduently) to an iPhone, would trigger that iphone registering the number with the iMessage account that user has created, and rerouting messages from any other iMessage iphone user to that imessage account over the iMessage platform rather than SMS. Indeed if the user who's number has been alledged (falsely) byt the phoneysim card, is not an iMessage user, they would not be registered in the database, so no collision woudl occur.
Message theft - don't even need the victims sim card.
Also raises questions of how long they keep numbers in database. In some markets mobile numbers are 'reallocated' to new users quite quicktly.
District Attorney Steven Wagstaffe did however note that "it was obvious [Gizmodo staff] were angry with the company about not being invited to some press conference or some big Apple event. We expected to see a certain amount of professionalism. This is like 15-year-old children talking," he said.
*Slow clap*
Send them all to jail.
First they go to CES and shut off companies' TVs as they're giving demos, then they try to use a stolen iPhone as leverage to get exclusives, and now they're all whiny about not being invited to Apple events anymore "for some reason".
They're acting like they're FIVE years old.