The times in which we live - famous actress photo leaks

[RonTheSavage]

good point!  Then again would you be surprised if the government was behind this somehow?  I mean they do have the best supercomputers in the world, and all the resources to boot!

This was my initial thought also. "Lets get everyone talking about something besides all the horrible crap going on in the world." But anyway, if you dont want your naked behind on the internet dont take naked cell phone pictures. We have no privacy people, stop acting surprised when stuff like this happens. On a side note, Blondes normally dont do it for me but Kate Upton my GOODNESS!!

[iacas]

As easy going as apple might be with security, you probably need to have some complex allogrithims to do what this/these guys did!

a) I realize you said "might be" but you couldn't be farther from the truth there. They're not "easy going."

b) It was seemingly a brute force attack based on simply guessing passwords, basically. That's almost the opposite of "complex algorithms."

[Slice of Life]

a) I realize you said "might be" but you couldn't be farther from the truth there. They're not "easy going."

b) It was seemingly a brute force attack based on simply guessing passwords, basically. That's almost the opposite of "complex algorithms."

hunter2

[Abu3baid]

a) I realize you said "might be" but you couldn't be farther from the truth there. They're not "easy going." b) It was seemingly a brute force attack based on simply guessing passwords, basically. That's almost the opposite of "complex algorithms."

Doesn't the fact that it was a brute force attack reinforce the notion that they are easy going with security then? I wouldn't be surprised if they outsource their data security now, and if it was outsourced then it is time for a replacemt! In the meantime I will continue not uploading anything onto their cloud!

[Golfingdad]

Apple has always been a bit cavalier about computer security so I'm not surprised they were hacked

As easy going as apple might be with security

I have no opinion on this kind of stuff because I don't understand computers well enough.  Here is what I do know though:

• I have had Dell PC's at work since 1997 (as long as I've been there).
• I have owned a Macbook at home for 5 or 6 years now.
• I've owned an iPad for 2 or 3 years
• We've owned 4 iphones since they've come out ... a pair of 3G's four years ago, and a pair of 4's two years ago.

That is almost exactly the same amount of "device years" for Apple versus non-apple, yet I've never once had a security issue on any of those Apple products.  Spam, malware, viruses ... nothing.  The PC, OTOH, has had to be serviced or replaced due to security issues ... I cannot tell you how many times.  8 or 10 times maybe??  I can't remember, but it's been a lot.

[Abu3baid]

I have no opinion on this kind of stuff because I don't understand computers well enough.  Here is what I do know though: [LIST] [*] I have had Dell PC's at work since 1997 (as long as I've been there). [*] I have owned a Macbook at home for 5 or 6 years now. [*] I've owned an iPad for 2 or 3 years [*] We've owned 4 iphones since they've come out ... a pair of 3G's four years ago, and a pair of 4's two years ago. [/LIST] That is almost exactly the same amount of "device years" for Apple versus non-apple, yet I've never once had a security issue on any of those Apple products.  Spam, malware, viruses ... nothing.  The PC, OTOH, has had to be serviced or replaced due to security issues ... I cannot tell you how many times.  8 or 10 times maybe??  I can't remember, but it's been a lot.

I want to point out that when I replied I was just conceding the point to newtogolf.. Basically I was saying ok even if they may be easy going (I should have just used the same word as him, my bad) it sounds to me like it was a complex attack that I'm not sure thy could have prevents even if they weren't. Then Erik corrected me and told me it was a brute force attack and now Ivan more convinced of how easy going thy must be to allow such a simplistic attack to get to people's data!

[Grndslmhttr3]

brb putting on my tin foil hat

[newtogolf]

Doesn't the fact that it was a brute force attack reinforce the notion that they are easy going with security then?

I wouldn't be surprised if they outsource their data security now, and if it was outsourced then it is time for a replacemt!

In the meantime I will continue not uploading anything onto their cloud!

Brute force password attack exploits the fact that people are pretty lazy about their mobile passwords and passwords in general.   If they determine that brute force was the actual method used, then the people most at blame are the people who had their pictures published.  Apple could do more to restrict the number of failed attempts permitted on the iCloud password or even lock the account if too many attempts are made, which I expect to happen as a result of this.

Remembering passwords with different case letters, symbols and numbers is tougher than remembering your dogs name.  Even on the iPhone itself, most people opt for the 4 digit unlock code versus the more difficult to crack alpha-numeric unlock code option.

[sacm3bill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Apple has always been a bit cavalier about computer security so I'm not surprised they were hacked

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abu3baid

As easy going as apple might be with security

I have no opinion on this kind of stuff because I don't understand computers well enough.  Here is what I do know though:

I have had Dell PC's at work since 1997 (as long as I've been there).

I have owned a Macbook at home for 5 or 6 years now.

I've owned an iPad for 2 or 3 years

We've owned 4 iphones since they've come out ... a pair of 3G's four years ago, and a pair of 4's two years ago.

That is almost exactly the same amount of "device years" for Apple versus non-apple, yet I've never once had a security issue on any of those Apple products.  Spam, malware, viruses ... nothing.  The PC, OTOH, has had to be serviced or replaced due to security issues ... I cannot tell you how many times.  8 or 10 times maybe??  I can't remember, but it's been a lot.

Apple products in general experience fewer security issues, but that's not necessarily because their security is any better than PCs. It's primarily because hackers generally target PCs - there are so many more targets in that space.

[iacas]

Brute force password attack exploits the fact that people are pretty lazy about their mobile passwords and passwords in general.   If they determine that brute force was the actual method used, then the people most at blame are the people who had their pictures published.  Apple could do more to restrict the number of failed attempts permitted on the iCloud password or even lock the account if too many attempts are made, which I expect to happen as a result of this.

Yeah, pretty much, plus they've already plugged that hole. You get five attempts now and you're locked out for 30 minutes (or something, I think).

Apple products in general experience fewer security issues, but that's not necessarily because their security is any better than PCs. It's primarily because hackers generally target PCs - there are so many more targets in that space.

That's an outdated perception (or misperception) that was never really right to begin with.

Especially since Apple sells 50 million iPhones per quarter or so.

And Mac OS X is more secure, in no small part because it's based on FreeBSD, which has been hammered on by computer experts and hackers for 30+ years.

Not to mention the fact that the majority of PC sales aren't the types people care to hack anyway: they're running a cash register, or are a secretary's Solitaire outlet (and occasional memo-writing machine), etc.

[newtogolf]

Apple products in general experience fewer security issues, but that's not necessarily because their security is any better than PCs. It's primarily because hackers generally target PCs - there are so many more targets in that space.

That's an outdated perception (or misperception) that was never really right to begin with.

Especially since Apple sells 50 million iPhones per quarter or so.

And Mac OS X is more secure, in no small part because it's based on FreeBSD, which has been hammered on by computer experts and hackers for 30+ years.

Not to mention the fact that the majority of PC sales aren't the types people care to hack anyway: they're running a cash register, or are a secretary's Solitaire outlet (and occasional memo-writing machine), etc.

Apple is more secure because of their OS being based on FreeBSD and the fact that they are a more closed OS than Windows.

Microsoft was forced to expose too much of their OS because their applications (Microsoft Office) used internal OS calls that should never have been exposed or documented and the courts forced Microsoft to document them so they did not have an unfair advantage in application development.   They also had to expose low level OS functions (the most dangerous) so third party hardware developers could develop device drivers.

There are more viruses and Trojan horses on Windows because it's just an easier OS to hack.

[phan52]

good point!  Then again would you be surprised if the government was behind this somehow?  I mean they do have the best supercomputers in the world, and all the resources to boot!

If that were the case, you'd think they would help out the IRS and the Veteran's Administration.

Back on topic, nothing is safe in the Cloud. I avoid it like the plague and I use secure personal hard drives for all my personal stuff (relax, no nudes) but I guess just having an iPhone and communicating with others compromises me.

[sacm3bill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

Apple products in general experience fewer security issues, but that's not necessarily because their security is any better than PCs. It's primarily because hackers generally target PCs - there are so many more targets in that space.

That's an outdated perception (or misperception) that was never really right to begin with.

I was thinking in terms of desktops/laptops, not mobile devices. For the former category, what I said is true. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usage_share_of_operating_systems). For mmobile devices though, you're right - it's closer to 50/50.

Not to mention the fact that the majority of PC sales aren't the types people care to hack anyway: they're running a cash register, or are a secretary's Solitaire outlet (and occasional memo-writing machine), etc.

Many businesses use PC based software and servers, and there are certainly a great number of such PCs being used to store and manipulate sensitive data.  In fact using a cash register is a great example of that - data breaches via POS register hacking has been big in the news recently.  Stolen PC laptops are another source of headline-making breaches.

[iacas]

I was thinking in terms of desktops/laptops, not mobile devices.

The way you wrote it still isn't true. You said that was the primary reason. It's not and never really has been.

Not really on topic for this thread, though.

[newtogolf]

Many businesses use PC based software and servers, and there are certainly a great number of such PCs being used to store and manipulate sensitive data.  In fact using a cash register is a great example of that - data breaches via POS register hacking has been big in the news recently.  Stolen PC laptops are another source of headline-making breaches.

Most POS is breached through their WiFi connection, not the OS.  Stores use WiFi because it's easier and less expensive than running cables.  They don't secure their WiFi routers properly and people in the parking lot can pretty easily detect and hack the WiFi routers.  If the store doesn't encrypt the data, the hackers can get raw access to credit card numbers and personal information.  Even if the information is encrypted, it can still be unencrypted if the strongest security settings aren't used.

[sacm3bill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sacm3bill

I was thinking in terms of desktops/laptops, not mobile devices.

The way you wrote it still isn't true. You said that was the primary reason. It's not and never really has been.

For desktops/laptops, I say it has been true, and still is, based on what I've heard and read. Do you dispute the data in the link I provided, which shows 91.49% Windows vs 6.74% OS X?  Or do you dispute that hackers prefer to target the higher numbers?

Why is this off topic? I thought the topic was hackers gaining access to nude photos.

[iacas]

For desktops/laptops, I say it has been true, and still is, based on what I've heard and read.

I'm clearly not debating the market share numbers. Mac OS X has a lower market share than Windows. I'm saying that market share is not "the primary reason" that Macs are not targeted as you've stated.

Why is this off topic? I thought the topic was hackers gaining access to nude photos.

Yes, and those photos were not sitting on individual hard disks of machines running Mac OS X or Windows.

The topic is "the times in which we live," actresses taking nude photos, ignorance to what "cloud storage" means, etc.

It's also not government conspiracy theories, though that line of discussion took care of itself relatively quickly.

[dsc123]

I am not surprised that this happened, and I think @Abu3baid is wrong to say that most "normal decent people" wouldn't take such pictures.  Its much more common than that.  Not that long ago the media loved to cover the "sexting epidemic"

But I am surprised at how dirty some of them are.  Most are the standard mirror selfies...but a few are...I don't know...maybe "gross" is the right word.

And if the ones you saw were all grainy...you saw different photos than I did.