Hackers Breach Apple Developer Centre

Apple has admitted to a breach of its developer website, warning personal data may have been compromised.

The Apple member centre on its main developer website remains closed this morning, after a breach on Thursday.

“Sensitive personal information was encrypted and cannot be accessed, however, we have not been able to rule out the possibility that some developers’ names, mailing addresses, and/or email addresses may have been accessed,” Apple said in a notice on its website.

Apple hacked

TechWeekEurope asked Apple what kind of encryption it had used on the data, but had not received a response at the time of publication. The iPhone maker is often cagey about how it does security.

Saying it had been working around the clock to fix the issue, the firm promised to do better.

“In order to prevent a security threat like this from happening again, we’re completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software, and rebuilding our entire database,” it added.

“We apologise for the significant inconvenience that our downtime has caused you and we expect to have the developer website up again soon.

“If your program membership was set to expire during this period, it has been extended and your app will remain on the App Store.”

Whilst Apple has a good record on security, it is not invulnerable to attacks. Chinese hackers were suspected of carrying out an attack on Apple using a Java exploit earlier this year.

It admitted a number of its employees’ Mac machines had been compromised.

What do you know about Internet security? Find out with our quiz!