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Apple Developer Website: Slow Roasted for Security?

6 August 2013 2,455 views No Comment

For more than a week, the entire Apple Developer Website was down, just gone. The site has been mostly back for a week now, but some services are still AWOL. Apple’s emailed debs to apologize, again, and say that the remaining services should be restored this week.

Apple Developer Update: Aug 5, 2013

We sincerely appreciate your patience as we work to bring our developer program services back online, and we want to give you an update on our progress. The majority of our developer services are currently online, including Certificates, Identifiers & Profiles, Dev Centers, software downloads, Videos, Apple Developer Forums, iTunes Connect, Bug Reporter, App Store Resource Center, and access to pre-release documentation.

We plan to reinstate most of the remaining services this week: Xcode automatic configuration as well as access to license agreements, TSIs, program enrollments, and renewals in Member Center. You can check the availability of these systems on our status page.

As a reminder, if your membership was set to expire during this downtime, it has been extended and your apps will remain on the App Store and Mac App Store.

We apologize for the significant inconvenience that our downtime has caused and encourage you to reach out to our support team if you need any assistance.

So, why is it taking so long to bring the entire Apple Developer Website back up? Some have speculated that the developer app signing system — a major element of the company’s “just works” security — was comprised during the original Apple Developer Website hack and the company is working to repair the damage, taking its time and getting it right.

Fundamentally, if a hacker could spoof or clone signed apps, they could make your Mac do anything they want.

Again, that’s just speculation, but it seems a reasonable explanation for why it has taken so long for the Apple Developer Website to come fully back online…

What’s your take?

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