Apple has responded to concerns today that certain celebrities’ private photos were leaked this weekend from their online accounts.
In a statement this afternoon, Apple said it was a very targeted attack, and that there was no widespread security breach in any of its systems, including iCloud or Find my iPhone.
Here’s the full statement:
We wanted to provide an update to our investigation into the theft of photos of certain celebrities. When we learned of the theft, we were outraged and immediately mobilized Apple’s engineers to discover the source. Our customers’ privacy and security are of utmost importance to us. After more than 40 hours of investigation, we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet. None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud® or Find my iPhone. We are continuing to work with law enforcement to help identify the criminals involved. To protect against this type of attack, we advise all users to always use a strong password and enable two-step verification. Both of these are addressed on our website at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4232.
On Sunday, there were rumors floating around that nude photos of several actresses were allegedly obtained from Apple’s iCloud service. The list of stars included Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Avril Livigne, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Hillary Duff, Mary Kate Olsen and others, according to 9to5mac.com.
From the sound of it, this is similar to the time Paris Hilton’s T-Mobile Sidekick was hacked.
If you don’t remember, back in 2005, when both Hilton and the Sidekick were all the rage, Hilton’s secret question was “What is your favorite pet’s name?” By correctly providing “Tinkerbell,” the name for her pet Chihuahua, someone was able to gain access to her photos, contacts and messages.
By posting a statement about the attacks only 40 hours after they first occurred, Apple is obviously trying to get ahead of a potential firestorm ahead of its Sept. 9 event.
What Apple would like you to believe based on the above statement is that the general public’s photos are probably not at threat because, these individuals were targeted specifically. But if you find this creepy, which you should, then be sure to use smart passwords and check to see if you have two-step verification enabled.
