Thursday Sep 19, 2024
Thursday Sep 19, 2024
Tuesday, 16 September 2014 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Reuters: Apple Inc is planning additional steps to keep hackers out of user accounts in the face of the recent celebrity photo scandal and will aggressively encourage users to take stricter security measures, CEO Tim cook told the Wall Street Journal in an interview.
Apple will alert users through email and push notifications when someone tries to change an account password, restore iCloud data to a new device, or when a device logs into an account for the first time, the report said.
Apple is moving quickly to restore confidence in its systems’ security ahead of the crucial launch of its new iPhone next week.
Cook said Apple will broaden its use of the two-factor authentication security system to avoid future intrusions, the Journal reported.
The two-factor authentication requires a user to have two of three things to access an account, which may include a password, a separate four-digit one-time code, or a long access key given to the user when they signed up for the service.
The iPhone maker said it plans to more aggressively encourage people to turn on the two-factor authentication in the new version of iOS, the daily reported.
“The usability battle will always be there but could you ever imagine using your debit card at an ATM and not entering a pin? That’s two factor, something you have (a card) & something you know (a pin), and we all get along just fine,” WhiteHat Security’s Matt Johansen told Reuters.
Apple said on Tuesday the attacks that emerged over the Labor Day weekend on celebrities’ iCloud accounts were individually targeted, and that none of the cases it investigated had resulted from a breach of its systems.
Some security experts have faulted Apple for failing to make its devices and software easier to secure through two-factor authentication, which requires a separate verification code after users log in initially.
Apple could also do more to advertise that option, they said. Most people do not bother with security measures because of the extra hassle, experts say, and the leading phone makers are partly to blame.
The iCloud service allows users to store photos and other content and access it from any Apple device. Security in the cloud has been a paramount concern in past years, but that has not stopped the rapid adoption of services that offer reams of storage and management of data and content off smartphones and computers.
JPMorgan hackers accessed servers but stole no money
Reuters: Hackers accessed dozens of servers at JPMorgan Chase & Co in a cyberattack launched in June, though no money was taken, the New York Times reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the investigation into the case.
“We are confident we have closed any known access points and prevented any future access in the same way,” the paper quoted JPMorgan spokeswoman Kristin Lemkau as saying.
She added that the bank had “not seen any unusual fraud activity” since the intrusion was discovered and said there was no evidence that they have taken any proprietary software or had a blueprint of the bank’s network, according to the Times.
JPMorgan disclosed late last month that it had been the victim of a cyberattack and was working with US law enforcement authorities to determine its scope.
The Times said the attack began in June, was detected in July and that the bank last week briefed financial regulators on the extent of the damage.
The report said that hackers accessed information on about one million customer accounts. It cited one source as saying that hackers had not gained access to financial information or Social Security numbers, and may have only been able to review names, addresses and phone numbers.
Bank spokeswoman Trish Wexler told Reuters she could not elaborate on Lemkau’s statements to the paper or otherwise comment on the report.
