Technically Apple may not be as bad as Internet Explorer (versions 8.0 & below) but truthfully Apple’s reputation as a cloud provider took a major hit.
After hearing the news that “numerous” celebrity accounts were hacked, the perception (at least among my non-geek friends & family) is that iCloud is insecure, is a joke, and a waste of time (as well as money).
Apple’s craptastic response to the incident did not help either, which apparently came off as an arrogant iDenial (infuriating some of my non-geek friends).
Although many words can be typed highlighting were Apple went wrong, the minds behind Cupertino could adopt a few measures to help thwart these massive hacks in the future.
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Enlighten iMinds: Most lovers of iDevices are unaware of features like 2-factor authentication for iCloud despite using it for email services. Apple needs to inform users of this feature as people will not lock a door if they do not understand how to setup the combination.
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Geo-Locking: Remember Geo-fences‽ Apple should offer something similar for iCloud, which would only open up if they were within the physical home (or office) of the user.
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Bug Bounty Please: No one has a monopoly when it comes to security, hackers, etcetera. Apple needs to offer significant monetary incentives for hackers who discover exploits (as the bad guys do).
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Rapid Response: Apple should consider starting a public blog as well as actively using social media (Twitter, Facebook, etcetera) to quickly respond to harmful rumors/reports.
There are probably a zillion other measures Apple could take in order to make iCloud more secure.
But honestly all of it will be for naught if Apple does not communicate this with the masses (instead of being super secretive about security breaches).
