US TELECOMS firm ATT has confirmed some users of Apple’s iPad have had personal information exposed via a network security flaw, two months after the tablet computer was launched and smashed sales expectations.

The breach, first reported by the website Gawker, led to the exposure only of e-mail addresses, ATT said in a statement. The wireless operator has exclusive US rights to carry the iPad and the popular iPhone.

The company apologised and said it would inform any customers who had been affected by the security breach. ATT said it learned of the problem on Monday and had since corrected the flaw.

“This issue was escalated to the highest levels of the company and was corrected by Tuesday, and we have essentially turned off the feature that provided the e-mail addresses,” spokesman Mark Siegel said in a statement.

Apple did not respond to a request for comment.

The iPad, launched in April, has already sold more than two million units worldwide. Hype surrounding the device, which alongside the iPhone will form a pivotal part of the company’s international growth strategy, helped to propel Apple past Microsoft in May to become the world’s most valuable technology stock.

However, other major technology firms, such as Dell and HP, are scrambling to get rival offerings onto the fledgling market, so the security breach could be an embarrassment for Apple’s two-month-old device.

On Wednesday, Gawker said it was informed of the flaw and given a list of the e-mail addresses by a group of hackers.

Its report said more than 100,000 iPad user accounts may have been compromised. Gawker reported that it obtained a list of e-mail addresses that included celebrities, politicians and chief executives.

ATT is now the sole wireless carrier for the iPad and the iPhone in the United States.

However it continues to draw harsh criticism from iPhone users over the quality of its network, and the security breach may add fuel to that fire.

The carrier said that the flaw led to exposure of iPads’ integrated circuit card IDS, which identify SIM cards in mobile devices. “The only information that can be derived from the ICC IDS is the e-mail address attached to that device,” ATT said in its statement.

Analysts speculate that ATT arch-rival Verizon Wireless may eventually also win the right to carry Apple’s iPhone, perhaps as early as 2011.

The company said it will continue to investigate the matter.

ATT said the group who discovered the flaw did not inform the company, which was alerted to the problem by an unidentified business customer. – (Reuters)