FBI refutes claims of hacked agency laptop, Apple UDID database

Less than one day after hacker group AntiSec claimed to have found over 12 million Apple UDIDs on a purportedly compromised agency laptop, the FBI issued a statement saying the group's allegations are false and distanced itself from the gathering of such private information.

Earlier on Tuesday, AntiSec published what it claimed to be 1,000,001 unique device identifiers (UDIDs) belonging to cellular-enabled Apple iPhones and iPads, saying the leak was just a small sampling of over 12 million such IDs purportedly stolen from an FBI laptop.

In a statement obtained by All Things D, the FBI denies the claims, saying that there is no evidence tying the agency to the purported UDID leak.

The group alleges that personal information like phone numbers, full names and addresses were included in the database alongside the UDIDs, information not usually available to developers.

From the FBI's statement:

The FBI is aware of published reports alleging that an FBI laptop was compromised and private data regarding Apple UDIDs was exposed. At this time there is no evidence indicating that an FBI laptop was compromised or that the FBI either sought or obtained this data.

When AntiSec first posted its purported findings, the group noted the leaked UDIDs had varying amounts of associated personal data, ranging from zip codes to more comprehensive datasets like full names and addresses. UDID codes are available to app developers, however access is limited and doesn't usually include personal information.

The FBI's denial raises the question of where the leak originated as at least some of the unique identifiers were verified as legitimate.