Apple Inc, which is expected to reveal its new iPhones next week, is currently investigating in collaboration with the FBI reports related to leaked photos of celebrities due to vulnerabilities in its iCloud service.
The nude photos and videos of celebrities, among which is the the Oscar-winner actress Jennifer Lawrence, were posted by the hackers on an anonymous image-sharing website. The private pictures of more than 100 U.S. and U.K. celebrities were obtained by a breach in their iCloud accounts.
Apples spokeswoman Ms. Nat Kerris said in a statement, which was cited by the Wall Street Journal: “We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report.” Ms. Kerris gave no further information on the situation.
The company also explained in its statement that it is actively investigating the reports associated with the breach and that it managed to close the gap in its iCloud services security, which facilitated the photo theft. There was a flaw in Apples “Find My iPhone” software that is believed to have provided hackers with the opportunity to access the celebrities iCloud accounts as it allowed them to make an unlimited number of attempts to guess their password, known as brute force attacks.
Nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence, Arriane Grande, Kate Upton and more than 100 other celebrities were posted on 4chan. Some of the photos have been confirmed as real by the affected parties themselves, while others have been said to be fake.
Apples iCloud service is considered a key part of the companys strategy to join its iPhones, tablets and desktop computers together. The service provides users with the opportunity to store their e-mails, contacts, photos and other personal data on external systems that can by accessed virtually.
Apple Inc. rose by 0.24% on Friday to close at a record high of $102.50 per share, marking a one-year change of +45.92%. The tech giant is valued at $613.76 billion. According to CNN Money, the 43 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Apple Inc. have a median target of $107.00, with a high estimate of $135.00 and a low estimate of $51.43. The median estimate represents a +4.39% increase from the last price of $102.50.
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