Jennifer Lawrence Leaked Nude Photos Updates: Apple Denies iCloud And Find My iPhone Hack Theory, No iCloud User Safe From 'Targeted Attacks'?
Over Labor Day weekend perhaps the largest internet nude photo leak of its kind featured over 60 photos of the famous "Hunger Games" actress Jennifer Lawrence. The event caused certain JLaw fans to react with outrage but others, mainly Apple users, responded to the event with fear. Today, Apple representatives denied the rumors and speculations that the hack was a breach across the entire iCloud service or Find My iPhone exploit. They have however revealed that it was a targeted attack against the stars which leaves many wondering if any photos are safe.
Earlier today in what is probably going to be the longest week of Jennifer Lawrence's life, Apple denied speculations that a breach of their iCloud services was responsible for the release of the 60+ nude photos of the Academy Award winning actress. This is was in contrast to certain circulating theories that the hack occurred due to either a large scale hack into iCloud or an exploit of the Find My iPhone app.
"We have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet," said Apple in a report by Variety. But this is frightening because it means that anyone who is targeted could potentially be hacked.
In fact, such a thing has been occurring long before Lawrence found herself to be a victim. According to The New Yorker, "If you go to the "obtained pictures" section of the AnonIB Web site (please don't), you'll find the e-mail and iCloud addresses of dozens of women who are not in the public sphere in any way. When the hackers who patrol the board and advertise themselves as 'iCloud rippers' find a way to access the targeted images, they tag them as "wins" and post them on the board."
They added that "before Apple's patch this morning, all that it really took to access your uploaded iPhone photos was a motivated poster who had your iCloud address and access to the brute-force script."
Apple advises that users continue to use two-step verification to protect against the hackers, but the real weakness may actually be in the security questions. Vox suggests that another key way to protect against theft is to not answer security questions honestly.
It would seem that privacy issues amongst our technological age will continue to be a problem, but the good news for Jennifer Lawrence and the other actresses affected is that if and when they find the culprit, jail will most likely be the end result based on past incidents.