Apple’s developer site is unavailable for software engineers after a hacker tried to steal personal information, the company said.

Apple took the website, used by programmers who write applications for iPhones, Macs and other products, offline on July 18 in order to fix the issue, the company said in a statement posted on the Internet.

Developers who use the site for software downloads, documentation and engineering information could face delays in introducing their own products.

Some of the information is encrypted and Apple hasn’t been able to rule out whether names, mailing addresses or e-mail addresses may have been accessed, the company said.

“Having your partners get breached in a hacking attempt is a serious loss of trust for developers,” Frank Yu, Beijing- based chief executive officer of app developer Kwestr, said in an e-mail today.

“Apple has responded well to allay those fears.” Apple said it would extend memberships for any users if their accounts were due to expire while the website is offline.

The California-based maker of iPhones and iPads said to prevent a security threat like this from happening again it’s “completely overhauling” its developer systems.

“This event shows that our private information and our developer account may be leaked,” said Cui Tong, a Beijing- based iOS developer who works for photo-sharing app PaPa. “I hope Apple will spend more time and resources on security to protect our private information.”

The Pentagon cleared Apple devices for use on its networks in May, approving the use of government-issued Apple products running a version of the iOS 6 mobile platform.

Some Samsung Electronics and BlackBerry products are also approved for for military sales. The approval demonstrates Apple's "commitment to deliver a secure platform to our enterprise and government customers," the company said at the time.

Bloomberg