Apple developer site still down, Apple extending developer memberships

Apple’s developer website is still down this morning after being inaccessible for long periods last week and being completely shut down by Apple yesterday afternoon due to a successful hacking attack that penetrated Apple systems and may have leaked some developers’ names, addresses, and email addresses.

The company said that it was “completely overhauling our developer systems, updating our server software,” to prevent similar threats in the future. That includes an entire database rebuild, the company said.

Update: “white hat” hacker claims responsibility

There is currently no timeline on the restoration of Apple developer services — unless you count “soon.”

Above: Even the Apple developer forums are down right now

Image Credit: John Koetsier

One small piece of good news, I suppose, is that if your developer ID was set to expire during this period of downtime, Apple will be extending your developer account membership — and, yes, your app will remain live on the site.

If your program membership was set to expire during this period, it has been extended and your app will remain on the App Store. If you have any other concerns about your account, please contact us.

Apple has easily a million developers, many of them independents, and more than 300 million iCloud/iTunes accounts. Many of those accounts overlap, as Apple requires that indie developers use their Apple ID for access to the developer sections and app store upload areas of its sites. That’s the same Apple ID that developers would use for their individual app store purchases, iCloud backups, and Apple device syncing.

So it pays for Apple to be safe.

I’ve asked Apple for further comment on the breach and its subsequent steps and will update this post with any substantially new information.