May not be connected to hacking incident

A hacker belonging to Goatse Security -- the group that exposed AT&T privacy vulnerabilities involving the iPad 3G -- has been arrested following an FBI search on his Arkansas home, reports say. Andrew Auernheimer, 24, is facing four felony charges of possession of a controlled substance, and one misdemeanor possession charge. Cocaine, ecstasy, LSD and various pharmaceuticals are said to have been found at his home.

It is not clear, however, if the drugs were the reason for the search, or merely incidental. The action may have been related to the iPad case; AT&T has blasted Goatse for exposing its security problems, and promised to assist in the investigation and prosecution of any illegal activity. Auernheimer, also known under the aliases "Escher" and "Weev," has insisted that the group just wanted to help people protect themselves, and so only went public with information about AT&T after the company had fixed vulnerabilities.

Circumstances may become known sometime after June 18th, when a hearing is scheduled to take place at Washington County Circuit Court. The iPad case is not the only Apple-related privacy issue affecting AT&T; during Tuesday's rush of iPhone 4 pre-orders, a number of people were accidentally shown the wrong account information after logging into AT&T's website. Secrets such as bills and addresses were accidentally disclosed.

by MacNN Staff