How to protect your iCloud account, as some hacked credentials confirmed valid

“While the available evidence suggests that hackers have not gained direct access to more than 600 million iCloud accounts, some of the sample login credentials supplied by the group have been found to be valid,” Ben Lovejoy reports for 9to5Mac. “ZDNet, for example, used Apple’s password reset function to test 54 logins supplied by the hackers, and found that all of them worked.”

“Apple has said that there have been no breaches of its own systems, and that the credentials likely came from ‘previously compromised third-party services,'” Lovejoy reports. “Most of the account owners contacted by ZDNet lent weight to this claim… ‘We also asked if their accounts were used on other services, to potentially verify if another site had been compromised. Most of the people we spoke to confirmed that they used their iCloud email address and password on other sites, such as Facebook and Twitter.'”

Five steps all iCloud users should take to protect their accounts here.

MacDailyNews Take: For the love of Jobs, DO NOT USE THE SAME PASSWORD ON MULTIPLE SERVICES!

Doing so means you trust the security of, say, Yahoo or Target as much as you trust Apple, proving conclusively that you’re batshit insane. Seek help — but first, FIX YOUR PASSWORDS!

Once again, too many people use one password for multiple services (and weak passwords at that). Once hackers guess that password, they then have access to all sorts of things: cloud storage, bank accounts, Facebook, Twitter, email, etc.

Regardless of the origination of these photos and videos, social engineering hacks can be thwarted, at least for iCloud. Use two-step verification for Apple ID to keep your personal information as secure as possible. More info here.

Always use unique passwords and use Apple’s Keychain Access and iCloud Keychain to create and manage them. When used properly, it works like a dream.

SEE ALSO:
Apple: ‘Turkish Crime Family’ hackers did not breach iCloud, usernames and passwords likely obtained from compromised third-parties – March 23, 2017
Hackers threaten to wipe millions of iPhones and iCloud accounts if Apple doesn’t pay up by April 7th – March 22, 2017
Yahoo discloses ‘largest hack of all time,’ says hackers stole data from over one billion users – December 15, 2016
Windows to blame for Home Depot’s gigantic security breach; senior executives given new MacBooks and iPhones – November 10, 2014
Target debacle: Retailer now says 70 million people hit in massive data breach – January 10, 2014
Report: 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords stolen – June 6, 2012