Apple to add security alerts for iCloud users in wake of nude photo leaks

Apple is moving quickly to restore confidence in its systems’ security in the wake of the recent celebrity nude photo leaks and ahead of the crucial launch of its new iPhone next week. Apple Inc told the Wall Street Journal it is planning additional steps to keep hackers out of user accounts, though it denies that lack of security allowed intruders to post nude photographs of celebrities on the Internet. 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, Chief Executive Tim Cook told the Journal in an interview. Apple said it plans to start sending the notifications in two weeks. It said the new system will allow users to take action immediately, including changing the password to retake control of the account or alerting Apple’s security team.

When I step back from this terrible scenario that happened and say what more could we have done, I think about the awareness piece. I think we have a responsibility to ratchet that up. That’s not really an engineering thing.

Apple CEO, Tim Cook

Asked about the criticism that Apple hadn’t focused enough on the security of its products, Cook pointed to the company’s work with Touch ID, the fingerprint sensor in its iPhone 5S that unlocks the phone and authorizes purchases. He also said Apple will broaden its use of an enhanced security system known as “two-factor authentication,” which requires a user, or a hacker, to have two of three things to access an account: a password, a separate four-digit one-time code or a long access key given to the user when they signed up for the service. Apple said a majority of users don’t use two-factor authentication, so it plans to more aggressively encourage people to turn it on in the new version of iOS.

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