Apple has released a media advisory concerning the celebrity photo leaks over the weekend. The company says that after over 40 hours of investigation, their engineers have found that the leaks were the result of “very targeted attacks” on user names, passwords, and security questions.
Apple goes on to say that none of the cases it investigated resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone. The company advises all users to always use a strong password and enable two-step verification.
Update to Celebrity Photo Investigation
We wanted to provide an update to our investigation into the theft of photos of certain celebrities. When we learned of the theft, we were outraged and immediately mobilized Apple’s engineers to discover the source. Our customers’ privacy and security are of utmost importance to us. After more than 40 hours of investigation, 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. None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud® or Find my iPhone. We are continuing to work with law enforcement to help identify the criminals involved.
To protect against this type of attack, we advise all users to always use a strong password and enable two-step verification. Both of these are addressed on our website at http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4232.
Apple says it is continuing to work with law enforcement officials to help identify the parties involved in the leak.
