Apple unveils iCloud center in China as cyber laws tightened

SHANGHAI - Apple has unveiled plans to build a data center in China to store its local iCloud customers' personal details, marking the first such move by a foreign technology firm following the imposition of strict new cyber-security laws in the country.

The US titan said it was partnering with an internet service provider in southwestern Guizhou province on the project, which will "improve the speed and reliability of our products and services while also complying with newly passed regulations."

It appeared to be referring to the June 1 implementation of a new law that, among other things, requires tech companies to store user data inside the country.

Some foreign firms have said the law is worryingly vague on key provisions and expressed concern over the potential impact on their business in the world's second-largest economy.

The law also further tightens Chinese curbs on web content, banning the publishing of anything that "disturbs economic or social order" or is aimed at overthrowing the government.

But Apple issued a statement seeking to allay fears that data-security could somehow be monitored or compromised by China's government or other parties.

"Apple has strong data privacy and security protections in place and no backdoors will be created into any of our systems," it said in the statement released Wednesday.

The firm did not give any financial details of the project, but China's state-run Xinhua news agency said it was part of a $1 billion investment.

China has hundreds of millions of smartphone users and is a vital market for Apple, whose iPhones are wildly popular in the country.

Fu Liang, a Beijing-based independent telecom analyst, said more foreign data centers were expected under the cyber-security legislation.

"The new rule requires this key information to be put in China. The boundary is very clear," Fu said.

He said the ramifications for Apple and other companies could be higher costs and potentially more restrictions under Chinese law.

"For (Apple) users, the good thing is their user experience like download speed will improve but the downside is that their access to overseas services and resources will be reduced," Fu added.

"It will be harder for them to access services that aren’t allowed in China now."

Computer and data security has become a top international concern following recent cyber attacks including the global ransomware contagion in May that affected government, industrial, academic and other computing systems in more than 150 countries.

The six-month-old administration of US President Donald Trump has been dogged by allegations that his candidacy benefitted from Russian hacking aimed at discrediting his campaign opponent Hillary Clinton.

The finger also has been pointed at Moscow for interference in the recent French elections, and Germany's domestic security watchdog warned last week that the country would likely face Russian cyber attacks heading into September's general election.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Second apparent leak of hacked celebrity nude pictures: US media

LOS ANGELES - More nude celebrity photos, purportedly including reality star Kim Kardashian, circulated social media Saturday, in what appeared to be the second massive hacking-related leak in less than a month, US media reported.

The pictures, which also included nude shots of actress Vanessa Hudgens and US soccer star Hope Solo, appeared briefly on 4chan and Reddit, before being removed, celebrity gossip site TMZ reported.

BuzzFeed said that personal videos and photos belonging to actresses Aubrey Plaza, Mary-Kate Olsen, Hayden Panettiere and Leelee Sobieski were posted, in addition to previously unseen pictures of Jennifer Lawrence.

Hackers first released a trove of nude starlets' photos on September 1, after snatching them from Apple's iCloud in what the tech giant has called a "targeted attack."

The company has denied its cloud storage system was breached, suggesting that the celebrities had their accounts hacked by using easy-to-guess passwords, or by giving up their personal data to cybercriminals posing as Apple, a technique known as "phishing."

In addition to Lawrence, celebrities whose pictures were allegedly stolen and posted online in early September included model Kate Upton, singer Avril Lavigne and actress Gabrielle Union.

source: www..abs-cbnnews.com

Apple to add security alerts for iCloud users - CEO

Apple Inc is planning additional steps to keep hackers out of user accounts in the face of the recent celebrity photo scandal, but denied that lack of security allowed intruders to post nude photographs of celebrities on the Internet, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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, Chief Executive Tim Cook told the Journal in an interview.

Apple is moving quickly to restore confidence in its systems' security ahead of the crucial launch of its new iPhone next week.

Some companies fear the two-factor authentication could drive users away as it gets too cumbersome. However, Matt Johansen of WhiteHat Security told Reuters that the usability battle will always be there but the users will eventually get along well.

Some security experts 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.

Apple was not immediately available for comment.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Apple says its systems not to blame for celebrity photo breach

The week before a crucial launch of its new iPhone, Apple Inc said intimate photos of celebrities including Oscar-winner Jennifer Lawrence were leaked online through the apparent hacking of individual iCloud accounts.

Apple rushed to restore confidence in its systems' security, saying the celebrity photo scandal that also ensnared swimsuit model Kate Upton, actress Kirsten Dunst and possibly dozens more was the result of targeted attacks on accounts storing personal data and not a direct breach of Apple systems.

"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 in a statement.

"None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple's systems including iCloud or Find My iPhone."

The celebrity hacking that came to light over the long Labor Day weekend nevertheless ranks among the highest-profile public fiascos for Apple in recent years.

Apple's 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.

Regardless of how the leaking of nude celebrity photos actually happened, the timing could not have been worse for Apple as it prepares to launch a new iPhone next week.

It also underscored the longer-term risks for mobile users as smartphones increasingly become the repository for far more sensitive healthcare, banking and personal data.

"Every great innovation is convenient but also a big opportunity for the bad guys in the world," said Marc Maiffret at security firm BeyondTrust.

Cybersecurity experts say the perpetrators possibly gleaned the celebrities' email addresses and mounted a long-term phishing attempt - a relatively straightforward attack through which hackers gain access to users' accounts by getting them to click on a compromised URL or Internet link.

The photos were posted on image-sharing forum 4Chan, prompting Lawrence's representatives to describe their release as a "flagrant violation of privacy" and contact law enforcement authorities.

A wake-up call to all

That the hacking could hit Lawrence, who is one of the biggest names in Hollywood, the star of the hugely popular "Hunger Games" films and the best actress Oscar winner, came as a wake-up call to both the famous and non-famous.

"This feels like a brute-force attack and someone's using bad passwords," said Michael Fertik, chief executive of online image manager Reputation.com. "If you must take a nude photo use a non-obvious password."

Hackers use so-called brute-force software to cycle through large numbers of possible passwords during log-in attempts.

Fertike said hacked celebrities would likely have to live with the leaked photos remaining outside their management for the foreseeable future.

The FBI said it is addressing the celebrity photo hacking, but added that any further comment "would be inappropriate at this time."

Apart from any criminal charges that might be pursued under federal or state hacking laws, Lawrence and the other celebrities could bring civil lawsuits against the alleged hacker or hackers and those who shared the photos.

"The way the celebrities were treating the photos, I don’t think there’s any doubt that the law will treat them as being private and the distribution of the photos was a violation of privacy," said Evan Brown, a technology and intellectual property attorney at InfoLawGroup in Chicago.

In 2012, a Florida man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for hacking into online accounts of more than 50 people in the entertainment industry. He gained access to nude photos of actress Scarlett Johansson, who tearfully said she was "humiliated and embarrassed" in a video statement to the court.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Apple iCloud moves out of beta

The iCloud, Apple Inc.'s long-awaited cloud-based storage service, received what could be its final update Wednesday (Manila time) - the removal of its "Beta" tag.

Enthusiast site MacRumors said the iCloud.com website was updated with a new login screen, and the service now shows icons in the background.

"(But) iCloud.com, itself, still seems restricted to developers for the most part. There have been sporadic reports of non-developers being able to upgrade, but it seems you must have created one in iOS 5," it said.

The iCloud was expected to Wednesday (US time) alongside iOS 5 and Mac OS X 10.7.2, Apple's respective operating systems for mobile devices and Macintosh computers.

Apple had released iTunes 10.5 on Tuesday in preparation, it noted.

A separate article on The Next Web said iCloud is allowing all MobileMe users to transition their accounts to iCloud, but signing up for new accounts is still not available.

"Although current MobileMe users can transition their accounts to iCloud right now, they will have to wait for a few hours for the launch of iOS 5 and a software update to Mac OS X Lion in order to use iCloud with their devices," it said. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanews.tv