The recent celebrity nude photo leak on iCloud may have been a targeted attack, but the incident raised important questions about security of cloud services in general.
Apple has found itself in the middle of controversy following the celebrity nude photo leak that involved some of the biggest names in Hollywood. While CNET reports that Apple will be improving their security features for iCloud users following the issue, users cannot wait for these upgrades to protect their iCloud accounts.
The following tips should help add layers of protection to a user's iCloud account while waiting for Apple's beefed-up security:
Enable Two-Step Verification
Apple recommends that users enable two-step verification for their accounts. The process involves having a user register one or more trusted devices that will be used to verify a user's identity when accessing their Apple ID account. This feature will be activated once a user logs in to iCloud, make a purchase on iTunes, or other processes requiring Apple ID access.
Setup is easy. Go to My Apple ID on a browser, click on Manage Your Apple ID > Password and Security > Two-Step Verification. Register the device to be used with the Apple ID. Once registered, a user trying to log into iCloud will need to enter their password and the verification code sent to the trusted device before proceeding.
Turn Off Automatic Back-Up
iOS devices have automatic back-up features that upload data to iCloud as new files are created. The most common use of this is in a user's Photo Stream, where new images on the Camera Roll are also uploaded to the cloud storage to make it accessible to other Apple devices.
Mashable provides a quick guide to disable Photo Stream. Click on the Settings app, and go to iCloud > Photos / Photo Stream (iOS 6) and turn off the switch for My Photo Stream. Users should also turn off Photo Stream on other devices using the same Apple ID to protect the files on each device.
Create Stronger Passwords
The Guardian recommends creating "proper passwords." These are passwords that are not easily cracked or guessed by other people. According to th report, research and analysis team member David Emm of Kasperky Labs suggests a "long, unique password that contains letters, numbers and symbols."
Meanwhile, Mashable also shared advice from security firm McAfee, who has said that that users should avoid setting up passwords that are too obvious to be guessed by hackers. These passwords, according to the firm are "personal information, like your birthday, pet's name, or a favorite color" The site also suggests using words that are not related to each other to create a long password that is easy to remember.
These tips add extra layers of protection to a user's iCloud account, at least until Apple begins implementing their tighter security measures. Those who still do not feel secure with the services may consider switching to what The Guardian calls a "zero-knowledge" cloud service - cloud storage services that encrypt all information from a user's device, so that even the service provider cannot read the files easily.
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