Apple to boost iCloud security after celebrity photo leak

PanARMENIAN.Net - Apple will add additional security steps to keep hackers out of user accounts in the wake of the celebrity photo scandal and will aggressively encourage users to take stricter measures, the company’s chief executive, Tim Cook, has saidm, according to the Guardian.

Apple will alert users through email and push notifications when someone tries to change an account password, restore iCloud data to a new device, or when a device logs into an account for the first time, Cook told the Wall Street Journal.

Apple is moving quickly to restore confidence in its systems’ security ahead of the crucial launch of its new iPhone next week.

Apple would broaden its use of the two-factor authentication security system to avoid future intrusions, Cook said.

Two-factor authentication requires a user to have two of three things to access an account, which may include a password, a separate four-digit one-time code, or a long access key given to the user on signing up for the service.

The iPhone maker planned to more aggressively encourage people to turn on the two-factor authentication in the new version of iOS, the daily reported.

Apple said on Tuesday that the attacks that emerged over the US Labor Day weekend on celebrities’ iCloud accounts were individually targeted and that none of the cases it investigated had resulted from a failing of its own systems.

The iCloud service allows users to store photos and other content and access it from any Apple device. Security in the cloud – on technology companies’ servers, rather than users’ individual devices – has been a paramount concern in past years but that has not stopped the rapid adoption of services that offer reams of storage and management of data and content copied across from smartphones and computers.

Some security experts have faulted Apple for failing to make its devices and software easier to secure through two-factor authentication, which requires a separate verification process after users log in initially.

Apple could also do more to advertise that option, they said. Most people do not bother with security measures because of the extra hassle, experts say.

Matt Johansen, a threat management expert at WhiteHat Security, told Reuters: “The usability battle will always be there but could you ever imagine using your debit card at an ATM and not entering a pin? That’s two factor, something you have (a card) and something you know (a pin), and we all get along just fine.”