Is the Cloud unsafe?

News of a hacker gaining access to troves of some major celebrities’ nude photos has rocked the tech world. Does this expose a major flaw in the Cloud?

The simple answer is no.

There is no evidence to show that it was a broader breach of iCloud. In fact Apple has spent 40 hours looking into the issue and has this morning confirmed that there was no breach of its cloud storage system.

‘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,’ Apple said on Tuesday.

‘None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone’.

So you can sleep easy at night, right?

Well technically no. But it won’t be the Cloud that is to blame; it could well be you or your personal device!

So what should you do about it?

•Change your password regularly and make sure you use secure, unique passwords on your accounts and devices.

•Make sure you update your operating system. Running the latest version will ensure that any bugs or flaws that the developer has found will be fixed.

•If two-factor authentication is available, use it!

•Enable locks and passwords on all of your computers and devices. Although many of your files are encrypted on, for example, your iPhone, if you do not have a passcode on your device, someone could plug your phone into a Computer and access your photos and videos.

•Be careful about what you publicly make available on the Web. Most hackers gain access to your accounts through personal information you have shared on the Internet. Look at your social media privacy settings and make sure you set them to be as secure as possible.

Following these steps will maximise your own personal security and although it won’t make your data 100% safe, it will make it far harder for hackers to access your accounts.

If you are thinking of moving to Cloud Accounting but have some concerns, find out about the extensive data security measures we have in place to protect your data.

Call us on 07 3906 2881 or request our Client Privacy and Data Security information pack.