Apple explains what happened with leaked photos of celebrities

The release of private photos of 100 Hollywood celebrities has been a turning point in their lives and careers. Those who have seen these private and intimate details of their lives have had them disseminated to the public without the slightest regard for the consequences.

However, we won't delve into that topic to avoid straying from the main theme of this article. Several days have passed since the images of these celebrities were made public, and now Apple has stepped forward to clarify how and why its service was allegedly the means by which these hackers managed to steal the images.

And indeed, the company has admitted today that photographs of dozens of famous women naked, such as Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna, Scarlett Johansson, were stolen from their iCloud accounts.

We imagine this news will alarm many users. This is because user privacy is being put at risk by allowing a supposedly confidential account to have this type of leak or vulnerability to malicious hackers.

But be careful what Apple tells its users.

Apple has categorically denied that the anonymous attackers breached iCloud or Find My iPhone services due to an account security flaw. On the contrary, Apple emphasized that, following the incident, its developers determined that: “The accounts of the affected celebrities were compromised by an attack targeting usernames, passwords, and security questions.”

In other words, these hackers allegedly used malicious code to conduct a brute-force attack and guess usernames and passwords. A technique that, as Apple states, "has become far too widespread on the internet."

On the other hand, the company also indicated that: “They are continuing to work on this, and together with the help of the authorities, they hope to identify these criminals involved.”

In addition, Apple has been forced to release an extensive report detailing exactly what happened. They stated that the leaks were not due to a platform error; on the contrary, the company has always prioritized the protection and confidentiality of its users' data.

Here is a brief excerpt from what the company published:

We wanted to provide an update on our investigation into the theft of photographs of certain famous people. When we learned of the theft, we were outraged, and we immediately mobilized Apple engineers to uncover the source.

The privacy and security of our customers are of utmost importance to us. After more than 40 hours of investigation, we have discovered that certain accounts belonging to celebrities were compromised by a highly targeted attack on usernames, passwords, and security questions—a practice that has become commonplace on the internet.

Finally, Apple recommends that its users always use a strong password to prevent these types of attacks. Afterward, if you haven't already, immediately activate two-step verification. This feature will further protect your accounts from third parties and malicious hackers.

Here are more details: Apple ID