Just days after AT&T was hacked an thousands of iPad users had their information exposed, Gizmodo is reporting that people pre-ordering the highly anticipated iPhone 4 have been re-directed to another person's account, giving them access to tons of valuable, private information.
It is only a bit of the disaster that the iPhone 4 pre-order process has become. Since Apple and AT&T began allowing people to pre-order this morning, there have been numerous issues, all seeming to stem from AT&T's processing system. Apparently, the entire AT&T system has collapsed, resulting in failures on Apple's end as well. The problem has become so drastic that AT&T has temporarily prevented users from accessing their online accounts and closed some of their retail stores. While some orders were successfully processed, they were subsequently canceled due to an undisclosed error.
As I mentioned earlier, the security breach is the second in a matter of days. Last week, a group of hackers exploited a hole in AT&T's system to expose thousands of iPad 3G users' information. Among the hacked included Diane Sawyer, Michael Bloomberg, and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. The company recently apologized for the security breach.
AT&T also threw a curve ball at its subscribers two weeks ago with the announcement of their new data plans, ultimately killing unlimited data for new users. If you remember, unlimited data was the big selling point at the iPad announcement in January, so it was a big slap in the face to the 3G adopters. Then there is iPhone tethering, which was delayed a year, only to be announced for an additional $20 a month, only with use of the 2GB data plan.
So, what the hell is going on with AT&T? While the company has always been plagued with embarrassments, especially regarding the iPhone, two major disasters within days of each other is not a good look for the company, especially concerning its tenuous relationship with Apple. Rumors continue to persist of Apple dropping the company when the exclusivity agreement ends, and with these latest embarrassments, they'll only grow bigger.
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