Here’s How Apple is Improving iCloud Security After the Celebrity Leaked Photos Scandal

Apple has unveiled the updates it is planning to roll out soon, following the massive security breach that allowed a user to obtain naked photographs of various female celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence, Kaley Cuoco, Kate Upton and Kim Kardashian, which had all been stored on the iCloud.

Also See: iPhone 6 Release Date Will Likely Be September 19th

Apple faced intense pressure following the leaks, after the hacker released various photos onto the image board 4chan which he managed to retrieve from Apple’s cloud storage system. 

Now the company has revealed the methods it will be employing to ensure that this doesn’t happen again, which are as follows:

  • Emails and push notifications will be sent out to users when someone attempts to change the password of an account. These notifications will also be sent out when users attempt to restore cloud data on a new device, and when unfamiliar devices are connected to an existing Apple account.
  • A new authentication system will see users provided with a temporary password that will co-exist with their existing security information. This password will be required when users attempt to change their security information or perform tasks that Apple deems suspicious.
  • Passwords will no longer be able to be guessed an infinite amount of times. It’s somewhat baffling that this wasn’t introduced before, but prior to these leaks Apple’s iCloud service would allow users to input passwords over and over again. Most security systems block users’ access after a few attempts, but for some reason Apple has never employed that method. All it’s taken is a naked Jennifer Lawrence for them to realize it’s a bad idea.

Speaking of the new changes to The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook said: “We want to do everything we can do to protect our customers, because we are as outraged if not more so than they are.”

Related: Cancer Charity Returns Huge Donations Made in “Honor of Jennifer Lawrence’s Leaked Photos”

Not only has this whole debacle been harrowing for the numerous female celebrities involved, it’s also been a massive PR disaster for Apple ahead of its reported announcement of the iPhone 6 on September 9th. While it’s yet to be determined whether these new security measures will ensure nothing like this happens ever again, it’s comforting that the company is at least taking a variety of preventative measures now.

Photo: Getty Images

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