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Hackers stole Apple data from Florida company, not from FBI

(Reuters) — A Florida company said on Monday that its files — not an FBI agent's laptop — were hacked by a renegade group that released Apple product identification data it claimed to have obtained through a breach of the nation's top law enforcement agency."We want to apologise, announce what happened and set the record straight," said Paul DeHart, chief executive officer of software company BlueToad Inc, told Reuters.FBI spokesman Paul Bresson confirmed to Reuters that "it certainly does appear that BlueToad was where the information was actually compromised."BlueToad hosts more than 5,000 worldwide publications including consumer magazines and business documents, and creates apps for its clients. DeHart said the company experiences about 1,000 unsuccessful break-in attempts a day.DeHart said his company realised it had been hacked soon after the group "AntiSec," an affiliate of Anonymous, posted a file on the internet with the identification numbers for what it claimed were 12 million Apple devices on September 3.Anonymous is one of several loosely affiliated hacking groups that take credit for breaking into government security agencies and major corporations worldwide."A third party reached out to us who was examining the list that was on the internet and said, 'Hey, we see some connections to you guys,'" DeHart said.He said his company is cooperating fully with the FBI. For security reasons, he declined to provide details of how they confirmed the data file came from his company.He said fewer than 2 million device IDs were obtained by the hackers rather than the 12 million the group claimed. He said his company, which does not collect private information such as Social Security numbers or credit card information, plugged the hole in its security system and has hired a national security firm to perform a complete security analysis.