Apple firms up users’ data security
19 Sep 2014
After the recent leak of nude celebrity photos, possibly due to an iCloud hack, a reaction from Apple was expected but not a word was said about it at the company's iPhone event.
However, Tim Cook later assured the company was taking additional steps to protect the security and privacy of its users, and now, the company was delivering on that promise.
Mashable said it had noted yesterday that Apple had strengthened its iCloud security with two-factor authentication; now, the company has made public its updated Privacy Policy on an entirely new section of its website.
The section features an open letter from Tim Cook to Apple customers, and according to customers his choice of words was particularly interesting. He described Apple as a product-oriented company that never, ever touched users' data.
Cook said, "At Apple, your trust means everything to us." "Our business model is very straightforward: We sell great products. We don't build a profile based on your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers. We don't ''monetize'' the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don't read your email or your messages to get information to market to you. Our software and services are designed to make our devices better. Plain and simple," he writes.
The message came in loud and clear - Apple cared about keeping user data secure, The Verge said.
However, The Verge pointed out that there was something a bit confusing about Apple's now very public privacy push.
Cook explained Apple's handling of government information requests, ''On devices running iOS 8, your personal data such as photos, messages (including attachments), email, contacts, call history, iTunes content, notes, and reminders is placed under the protection of your passcode. Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data. So it's not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8.''
Customers would no doubt be able to draw much comfort from the paragraph which outlined a new tough stance, but it was contradictory to the claims in the landing page at Apple's website, still live as of yesterday, directed at law enforcement. Here, the company had very clearly stated that it could bypass the passcode in iOS to retrieve at least some of the data stored on user devices - so long as the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch was delivered to its Cupertino headquarters first.
"Upon receipt of a valid search warrant, Apple can extract certain categories of active data from passcode locked iOS devices," Apple said in May. "Please note the only categories of user generated active files that can be provided to law enforcement, pursuant to a valid search warrant, are: SMS, photos, videos, contacts, audio recording, and call history."
