Apple plans to allow users to more tightly lock down photos and notes stored on its iCloud service and require a physical security key when logging in from a new device, it said on Wednesday.
The forthcoming options, along with another
security measure for Apple's iMessage chat program, are particularly aimed at
celebrities, journalists, activists, politicians, and other high-profile
individuals heavily targeted by hackers, the company said.
The iPhone maker said that though it was
not aware of breaches to iCloud servers or iMessage exchanges, hacking attempts
are increasing.
According to Apple, iCloud currently
protects 14 sensitive data categories with end-to-end encryption technology.
These include passwords in iCloud Keychain and Health data.
The company has announced support for
end-to-end encrypted backups, which will bring the total number of data
categories protected to 23, including iCloud Backup, Notes, and Photos.
US users will be able to activate the free
Advanced Data Protection for iCloud storage by the end of the year. When turned
on, Apple cannot help users recover photos, notes, voice memos and about 20
other types of data if they forget their password. It will expand globally next
year.
The option to require plugging a security
fob into a new device to access an Apple account is expected to roll out next
year. Rival Alphabet's Google already supports such hardware keys, which are
certified by industry body FIDO and cost about $25.
On iMessage, conversations between users
who enable the new Contact Key Verification next year would receive automated
alerts about unrecognised devices potentially snooping on the exchange.
Users can manually verify their
communication is secure by matching up security codes, too. Secure chat
services such as Signal offer comparable features. © Reuters