• Valleywag et al., Thursday, June 10, 2010 2:40 PM

And you thought Facebook was bad. Gawker's Valleywag is reporting that the email addresses of thousands of iPad owners -- including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and Mayor Bloomberg -- were accidentally exposed by AT&T in what the blog is calling the "worst security breach" in Apple's history. So, what does this mean for Apple, AT&T, and their various rivals -- all of whom could suffer if consumers see the gaffe as a lesson in foolish digital expectations?

"Assuming only email addresses were harvested, the worst case scenario is an increase in spam," writes InformationWeek. Yet, "That doesn't begin to cover the damage caused to AT&T's already embattled reputation, and it certainly puts a black spot on Apple's reputation, which as far as security goes, has been pretty stellar."

The breach "should be worrying people a lot," Nick DePetrillo, an independent security consultant tells The New York Times. One implication, which AT&T is denying, is that the exposed ICC-ID numbers -- which iPads use to communicate over AT&T's network -- "could, in the right hands, be used to get other information, like an iPad's location," writes The Times.

"Buzz around the [iPad] -- which alongside the iPhone will form a pivotal part of the company's international growth strategy -- helped propel Apple past Microsoft in May to become the world's most valuable technology stock," writes Reuters. "But rivals from Dell to Hewlett-Packard are now scrambling to get rival offerings onto the fledgling market, and the security breach could pose a potential embarrassment for Apple's two-month-old device."

In Apple's defense, Fortune argues: "Losing e-mail addresses is hardly on the same scale as losing credit card or social security numbers, and it's not at all clear that the breach was Apple's in the first place."

Furthermore, "It's a sexy story, since it involves celebrities, the iPad, and security leaks, but it's really a very minor one as far as those go," reasons Fast Company.

That said, "Apple needs to respond and respond quickly as I'm about to return my $900 iPad 3G," vows ZDNet's Jason O'Grady. "If ever there were a reason for Apple to dump AT&T -- this is it."

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