You may have heard about the recent leaks of celebrities' personal photos via iCloud and other cloud services in the news, which raised some security concerns for users.
However, according to Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, Apple’s servers themselves were not directly hacked. Instead, users were targeted in a hacking campaign involving user names, passwords and security questions.
iCloud Data Breach and the Celebrity iCloud Hack
In light of this issue, Apple is beefing up iCloud security in a few ways. They have now implemented a system that alerts users via email and push notifications when passwords are changed, if there are logins from new devices or if there is a restore from an iCloud backup. Additionally, they are encouraging the use of two-step verification.
Apple also offers some advice on how to strengthen the security of your account. By requiring that user passwords have a minimum of 8 characters, do not contain more than 3 consecutive identical characters, and include a number, an uppercase letter, and a lowercase letter, Apple encourages users to develop stronger passwords. If you haven’t set up your security questions, Apple suggests that you visit the Apple ID site to set them up. Supplementary to these safeguards, it is encouraged to use two-step verification, which is used whenever you sign in from a new device by entering your password and a 4-digit verification code, usually sent to your mobile phone or other trusted device.
Ways to protect yourself:
1.) If you encounter something viral online, be cautious when you are looking for information about it. Scammers and hackers realize it’s "going viral" and you now become a target. Be especially cautious if you have to download something.
2.) Don’t click on suspicious links in email messages, and be wary of messages claiming that your account has been restricted or needs to be updated. Instead, go to your browser, enter in the known website URL, then look for headlines confirming the article mentioned in the email.
Botnets Target Apple IDs in a Recent Phishing Campaign
Symantec also warns of a new threat, preying on users’ security concerns resulting from the celebrity photo leak. The Kelihos Botnet, which has been around for years, is now targeting Apple IDs via an email phishing campaign. Targeted users receive an email from a spoofed Apple email address informing the user about a recent iTunes purchase. The subject line reads “Pending Authorisation Notification,” and the email notifies the customer about a recent purchase of a film titled “Lane Splitter” on a previously unused device not associated with the user’s Apple ID.
Additionally, the email goes on to state that the purchase was made from an IP address located in Volgograd, Russia. The email suggests that if the user did not make the purchase, he or she should click on an accompanying link that leads to a very convincing phishing page, asking the user to enter in their Apple ID and password.
Protect Yourself
Although executed by a botnet, this scam is no different than many of the other phishing scams out there. Users should always exercise caution when they receive requests for personal information. Here are a few helpful tips to help keep your data secure:
- Never click on links in suspicious emails. If you are concerned about the content in the email, you can go directly to Apple’s website via your browser and log in with your credentials there. Apple’s website uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which is a protocol that encrypts data over the Internet and helps verify that the website is legitimate. Just look for the padlock icon in front of the URL in the address bar.
- Apple will never ask you for your personal login information via email, so do not provide that information when responding to emails.
- Use comprehensive security software such as Norton 360 to help protect yourself from phishing scams.
This is part 3 in a 3 part series on all things Apple. Check out part 1 to learn about how to be safe on your Mac! Part 2 discusses the new Apple product announcements.