Apple on celeb pic theft: Our systems were not breached
Posted: 09/02/2014 12:03:01 PM PDT
Updated: 09/02/2014 12:07:52 PM PDT
CUPERTINO -- Apple said Tuesday that its cloud-based system for storing users' content was not at fault for a widely publicized theft of celebrities' personal photos, based on a preliminary investigation.
The world's most valuable company said in a media advisory Tuesday morning that it had been investigating the theft of nude photos of actress Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities for 40 hours and found that the users' individual accounts had been targeted and hacked.
'None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple's systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone,' the company's statement read. 'We are continuing to work with law enforcement to help identify the criminals involved.'
Apple's statement infers that the hackers used a tactic commonly referred to as 'doxxing' to obtain the photos, which involves using some information known about a subject -- such as answers to possible security questions -- to obtain more knowledge, such as passwords. A similar tactic was used by hackers to obtain control of Wired journalist Mat Honan's Apple account in a previous widely publicized attack in 2012.
Apple suggested in its note that users turn on its two-factor authorization to deter such attacks in the future.
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