A computer hacker who exposed an iPad security flaw complained in a lengthy blog post that law enforcement has since been trampling on his civil rights.
Andrew Auernheimer, who was locked in jail last month after FBI agents found illegal drugs in a search of his home, wrote yesterday that he has been denied a public defense attorney as he faces possible criminal charges for exposing a security flaw on AT&T’s Web site.
The flaw exposed last month by the 24-year-old Arkansas resident revealed the e-mail addresses of 114,000 iPad users, including high-profile customers like Mayor Mike Bloomberg and New York Times CEO Janet Robinson.
In a rambling blog post titled, “Hypocrites and pharisees,” Auernheimer said he had been placed under a gag order in the case. He went on, however, to quibble about his arrest, complaining that he was jailed for drugs — which included cocaine, published reports say — despite the fact that a search warrant for his home was for “computers only.”
“I am now violating those gag orders because my civil liberties are being grossly violated,” Auernheimer wrote. “I believe that speaking out is my only hope at being saved.”
FBI officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, and officials at the Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Arkansas weren’t immediately available for comment.
Last month, AT&T apologized for the Web site breach and repaired it, but blamed it on “malicious” hackers. Auernheimer’s group, Goatse Security, has also pointed to security flaws in Apple’s Safari Web browser.