An internet-wide newsbreak regarding anonymous hackers who obtained explicit photos of various Hollywood celebrities, including many A-listers like Jennifer Lawrence, and then publicised this material on the Internet, made the headlines recently.
According to Kaspersky these leaks are not new; however, this particular incident was on a massive scale. From the very beginning there was an assumption that perhaps some photos were stolen directly from celebrities’ accounts in the Apple’s iCloud. Is this possible? If so, what can be done to avoid the theft?
To avoid possible issues with private data leaks via computers, mobile devices or cloud services, Christian Funk, Senior Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab, recommends the following measures in an article:
1. Use strong passwords, unique to each account.
2. Use endpoint security solutions to protect your devices, because every device is a gateway to your cloud storage.
3. Enable and use two-factor authentication services whenever available.
4. Sort out which information should or should not be stored in the cloud. Your most sensitive information – whether relating to your personal or professional life – should never be trusted to the cloud.
5. It’s easy for a mobile device to be lost or stolen, so make sure the device itself has no sensitive data stored on it. If this is impossible, make sure there is appropriate encryption in place.
6. If you’re about to store highly sensitive information (including photos and videos), double check that your device doesn’t automatically upload data into the cloud.
7. Before sharing your personal data or allowing someone to take a picture of you, make sure that the other device is sufficiently secure to keep your private data safe from inadvertent exposure.
This alleged incident proves that privacy is increasingly fragile nowadays, for celebs as well as business operators. Although cloud-based file storage services have long been popular among Internet users, the indisputable convenience of such services is at least partly offset by some significant risks.
Staff Writer
