In response to the recent debacle that exposed multiple celebrities by hackers breaking into their personal Apple accounts and leaking private images on the web, Apple has stated it plans to launch additional security alerts warning users of possible intrusion.
The company announced on Thursday it will soon notify users through emails and push notifications of activities that may be signs of others attempting to access their account, such as password attempts on iCloud, attempts to upload backed-up data to another device, or when an unknown device logs in to the account for the first time.
In an interview with Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook, the Wall Street Journal reported the new alerts will roll out in two weeks, saying the new system will allow users to take action immediately to retake control of the account or by contacting Apple’s security team.
However, the company continues to stress that the best way to mitigate these attacks comes from the users themselves like setting stronger passwords that are difficult to crack.
“When I step back from this terrible scenario that happened and say what more could we have done, I think about the awareness piece,” Cook told the WSJ. “I think we have a responsibility to ratchet that up. That’s not really an engineering thing.”
As the company’s security practices came to question, Apple released a media advisory stating that after many hours of investigation, they had discovered the problem was not caused by its data server. “None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud® or Find my iPhone,” read the statement.
Apple says it is continuing to work with law enforcement to help identify the criminals involved.
