Paris Hilton using Sidekick II

I decided to look at what was all the hubbub a few weeks ago about Paris Hilton's phone being hacked. What surprises me was that the phone in question was T-Mobile Sidekick II!

Sidekick II is the phone of choice for many Deaf people because of Internet access, the ability to use email, and the ability to text message without paying (10 cents) for each message sent in exchange for a five dollar flat rate fee.

Apparently, the hacker broke into the server that store Paris Hilton's Sidekick information, not into the Sidekick phone itself. That means that 400 other T-Mobile customers also got hacked.

I don't own Sidekick, because of the 200 dollars I have to pay for the phone, which I'm too frugal for. But Deaf people may be in danger of having their private stuff stolen and exploited. They will need to be educated about the danger of using the cellphone, even if they feel safe because of their deafness.

Who already announced before I did?

1. Ridor (Check comment, NSFW)


2. Burning Light (go down to see a paragraph about Sidekick being hacked)