Apple 'Actively Investigating' Possible Hacking of Celebrity iCloud Accounts

[aliensporebomb]

Smells funny.

Sorry, but 24 hours sounds like a VERY short amount of time to brute force hack fifty accounts, find and access this data in a device backup, shop the photos around, then break the news to the world...before 7 PM yesterday.

Exactly.

This smells of something that's been happening for some time now as well as possible industrial espionage implications. The previous post about a ring of individuals who collect celebrity pics like this seems more likely although the iBrute code being posted sure didn't help.

It's obviously the pics were intended for significant others eyes and maybe they didn't really understand the whole photostream thing (or maybe they did, some people are exhibitionists).

 

[apolloa]

The exploit was revealed, Apple fixed it. That does not mean "these pictures leaked due to the exploit". These are coincidences, they could mean that...and I'm not going to be surprised if they DO mean that...but as of right now, there isn't PROOF.

So YOU are now admitting that Apple DID have a hole in their security that let a weak hack through, but then your going to DEFEND Apple by implying the pictures did not leak by that hole...

And you attempt to claim they are coincidences. Yeap defending Apple no matter what, and who cares what your job is, let us know when you work for Apple.

 

[Iconoclysm]

yes yes, well sadly for you, Apple is going to get a rough ride in the news now and in the papers tomorrow. And when was it on this site? Certainly was not 'last night', when was it in mainstream news? Not 'last night'.

I don't hate Apple, but I don't blindly defend them no matter what, your incredibly ignorant yourself, if you weren't you would of read the stories before commenting
No idea what the English language has to do with anything either?

How is that sadly for me? What is with all of that nonsense? I didn't lose any photos, I don't blindly defend Apple, and I have nothing vested in this company.

It was all over 4chan last night...and The Verge...sorry you get your news so late.

Words like reportedly, investigating, allegedly, etc. They are English words that all mean the same thing - nobody knows for sure yet.

And yeah, it's "would HAVE" read the stories...

 

[Tech198]

.... then again on the other side of the fence..

this just further strengthens the point home of "Don''t put stuff on the public internet if you want to keep it private"

With all cloud services, we would image a level of privacy yes, but its still public if it gets hacked... And this proves it...

I have stuff in Dropbox, but if it gets hacked, i'm not worried, because no personal stuff i keep is there anyway..

I hope it doesn't, but using any cloud service is sending that point home even stronger every-time it happens.

extra security is better than none and good password, but its still public internet.

Don't put stuff there u may not want others to see. And be wary.

Not intending to freak anyone out, bit most don't realize that when they stick stuff in cloud services.. They never think, until it happens.

 

[torana355]

How can you be silly enough to put naked videos and pics like that on ANY cloud based service. My personal stuff stays locally on my HDD. Google have a similar setup for when you take photos with a phone, i have it turned off. The only stuff that goes in the cloud is non personal stuff.

 

[Iconoclysm]

So YOU are now admitting that Apple DID have a hole in their security that let a weak hack through, but then your going to DEFEND Apple by implying the pictures did not leak by that hole...

And you attempt to claim they are coincidences. Yeap defending Apple no matter what, and who cares what your job is, let us know when you work for Apple.

I don't have to admit that Apple had a hole" in their security, it was clearly revealed, and clearly fixed.

I'm not defending Apple by saying there isn't proof that the pictures leaked through that "hole", I'm simply not running with two coincidences and claiming facts...and I'm wasting way too much time trying to explain this to people who are obviously not capable of simple logic.

 

[cdmoore74]

So YOU are now admitting that Apple DID have a hole in their security that let a weak hack through, but then your going to DEFEND Apple by implying the pictures did not leak by that hole...

And you attempt to claim they are coincidences. Yeap defending Apple no matter what, and who cares what your job is, let us know when you work for Apple.

Sheeplogic. Many people here have it.

 

[apolloa]

Didn't the "MAINSTREAM NATIONAL News" also report on Amazon delivering packages to peoples doors via drones?

How did that turn out in the end?

And what do you mean? Amazon had a big press announcement, sent all the info to the press, and your point is?

 

[jamezr]

I read all about the brute force attacks last night, yes I have over 25 years experience in IT and 15 of that in some of the most secure environments around.

The exploit was revealed, Apple fixed it. That does not mean "these pictures leaked due to the exploit". These are coincidences, they could mean that...and I'm not going to be surprised if they DO mean that...but as of right now, there isn't PROOF.

I agree there is no proof yet...other than the reporting of some of the most respected technology sites.
I too work in IT security for a fortune 500 company. I know what is going on at Apple right now. I have seen it.
The worst thing IT people can do it stick their head in the sand. Or let their emotional ties to a company cloud their judgement.

 

[Iconoclysm]

Sheeplogic. Many people here have it.

Coming from someone who can't read a headline without jumping to a conclusion, that's EXTREMELY ironic.

 

[CoMoMacUser]

Credit card numbers get stolen all the time (e.g. by restaurant waiters or the like); you simply dispute any fraudulent charges and get a replacement card.

Right. So if I'm a reporter covering a partnership between Apple and CC issuers, one of my first questions would be, "In the wake of the iCloud breach, why are you confident that Apple can do a better job securing information that, if comprised, could cost you billions?"

 

[subsonix]

I agree there is no proof yet...other than the reporting of some of the most respected technology sites.

Who are all recycling the same story, the fact is that none of them have the facts. Referring the their "respect" is nothing but an appeal to authority.

 

[tkatz]

And what do you mean? Amazon had a big press announcement, sent all the info to the press, and your point is?

The point is that just because its reported by mainstream news media doesn't necessarily mean its true.

As of right now, without any real proof or admission of what actually happened the media that blames iCloud is doing so based on what was claimed by an anonymous 4chan user.

There are other anonymous 4chan users that explain it a completely different way which makes just as much, if not more sense (ok that can be subjective) then the iCloud hack idea. Though only a few "news sites" have actually published that information for some reason.

What actually happened will come out in a few days after proper investigations are done. If it was an iCloud hack then so be it. Its not "guilty until proven innocent".

 

[apolloa]

I don't have to admit that Apple had a hole" in their security, it was clearly revealed, and clearly fixed.

I'm not defending Apple by saying there isn't proof that the pictures leaked through that "hole", I'm simply not running with two coincidences and claiming facts...and I'm wasting way too much time trying to explain this to people who are obviously not capable of simple logic.

I can tell I'm striking a nerve now then, seeing as you're not picking up on my grammar hahaha
You can bring out the good ol, youre stupid and I am a superior intellect, comment if you want, just makes you look daft and big headed

You do come across as though you refuse to accept this is anything Apple has done, by claiming its a 'coincidence', no it's poor security on Apple's part. And on this whole it wasn't even Apple, well it seems they are the ones who will be mentioned in tomorrow's newspapers..

 

[Iconoclysm]

I agree there is no proof yet...other than the reporting of some of the most respected technology sites.
I too work in IT security for a fortune 500 company. I know what is going on at Apple right now. I have seen it.
The worst thing IT people can do it stick their head in the sand. Or let their emotional ties to a company cloud their judgement.

Yet all of the reporting is based on a statement that is far too inconclusive for me to be convinced, and whether or not it's Apple, Google, Samsung, Microsoft, or whomever else, means nothing to me. There are way too many facts that point to these photos coming from many different places.

As far as sticking my head in the sand, I wouldn't use this as any sort of example of that. In fact, it leads me to scrutinize further in every direction, not just Apple's.

I'm not an "IT person", btw, I'm a consultant...and I would look like a complete asshat going into a customer and claiming iCloud is the cause of all these leaked photos only to find out that it wasn't. That is why I, like any good professional, have integrity.

 

[aPple nErd]

the problem is most people don't know that theyre doing that.
you take a picture.
the picture is saved just on your phone right?
well...yes...but as soon as you plug your phone in at night...icloud back up starts up....then unless you untick the camera roll button - up it goes.
no notice, no nothing.

Even tech-conscious people would fall for this.

i wouldn't fall for it. And again, i really have nothing to hide. In 8th grade and even 9th, back when i had my iPhone 4 and iOS 5, i knew how photo stream worked. i knew that if i didn't uncheck that box before downloading stuff i shouldn't have been (curious kid) i knew that it could be seen by my mom, who would occasionally log in to my iCloud photo stream to check it. It's just a lack of knowledge, and if you don't know how something works, don't use it for things that are personal/important.

 

[Carlanga]

Sorry, but 24 hours sounds like a VERY short amount of time to brute force hack fifty accounts, find and access this data in a device backup, shop the photos around, then break the news to the world...before 7 PM yesterday.

lol, don't write w.out knowledge.
There are collectors of celeb nude pictures. They pay for pics and videos to hackers. The hacks have been used for weeks and months, one of the hacks is using the phyton script + info they have collected to get the info necessary to access iCloud. The scrip used bruteforce in a way that apple didn't lock down the account after being tested w five different passwords, so the person could try a whole library of passwords until they got access.

Most of these female celebs have iPhones or their boy/girl has an iPhone and yes most have iCloud accounts by default so piece one and one together and voila iCloud is the one method most talked, because that is where most got their pictures and videos from. The blame goes to apple because their security system was laking, of course the celebs have part of the blame.

 

[iolinux333]

Why does everyone hate Apple on an Apple Forum?

1. No file manager


Next question?

 

[Reason077]

Sorry, but 24 hours sounds like a VERY short amount of time to brute force hack fifty accounts, find and access this data in a device backup, shop the photos around, then break the news to the world...before 7 PM yesterday.

The flaw in iCloud presumably has existed for some time. "Hackers" quite likely knew about it long before the "iBrute" exploit was made public.

 

[aPple nErd]

1. No file manager


Next question?

thats a very dumb reason, honestly. either jailbreak, or get an android and stop using iPhones

 

[Iconoclysm]

I can tell I'm striking a nerve now then, seeing as you're not picking up on my grammar hahaha
You can bring out the good ol, youre stupid and I am a superior intellect, comment if you want, just makes you look daft and big headed

You do come across as though you refuse to accept this is anything Apple has done, by claiming its a 'coincidence', no it's poor security on Apple's part. And on this whole it wasn't even Apple, well it seems they are the ones who will be mentioned in tomorrow's newspapers..

You're not striking any nerve other than utter frustration, I cannot fix the lack of understanding you have for something so simple. So yes, I give up. If striking a nerve from someone on a forum was your goal, there's a word for that in the dictionary too...

Yes, daft and big headed. Not sure why calling someone stupid using any other word isn't moderated here.

I really don't care how you think I'm "coming across" here, that's how it looks on the outside of a discussion when that's what you want to see.

Not once did I claim Apple has done nothing wrong...that's the old hater strawman.

 

[apolloa]

The point is that just because its reported by mainstream news media doesn't necessarily mean its true.

As of right now, without any real proof or admission of what actually happened the media that blames iCloud is doing so based on what was claimed by an anonymous 4chan user.

There are other anonymous 4chan users that explain it a completely different way which makes just as much, if not more sense (ok that can be subjective) then the iCloud hack idea. Though only a few "news sites" have actually published that information for some reason.

What actually happened will come out in a few days after proper investigations are done. If it was an iCloud hack then so be it. Its not "guilty until proven innocent".

Right, but Amazon did not 'lie' about it's drones? It had a big press launch about it? They didn't make it all up?
And ever heard the saying 'where's there's smoke there's fire? But reading above Apple did have a security hole that they have patched today, pretty hard evidence against the innocent until proven guilty but yes we will wait to see what happens, although I suspect Apple will never tell anyone.

 

[Iconoclysm]

lol, don't write w.out knowledge.
There are collectors of celeb nude pictures. They pay for pics and videos to hackers. The hacks have been used for weeks and months, one of the hacks is using the phyton script + info they have collected to get the info necessary to access iCloud. The scrip used bruteforce in a way that apple didn't lock down the account after being tested w five different passwords, so the person could try a whole library of passwords until they got access.

Most of these female celebs have iPhones or their boy/girl has an iPhone and yes most have iCloud accounts by default so piece one and one together and voila iCloud is the one method most talked, because that is where most got their pictures and videos from. The blame goes to apple because their security system was laking, of course the celebs have part of the blame.

Don't write without knowledge...you're simply quoting a link that I actually responded to pages back. You obviously don't understand the intricacies around photostream and haven't been following that some of these are obviously sourced from dropbox.

 

[rei101]

Why does everyone hate Apple on an Apple Forum? This isn't Apples fault.

It is... they have to protect your data. If someone brakes in to your bank account as well into other 99 accounts in the same weekend is the banks fault.

But lets see how it develops.

 

[Iconoclysm]

The flaw in iCloud presumably has existed for some time. "Hackers" quite likely knew about it long before the "iBrute" exploit was made public.

Definitely possible, we'll find out when a real announcement is made.