Is User Security As Important To Apple As They Say?

Submitted By Cuarto25
Words: 1702
Pages: 7

Jordan Jackson
Is User Security as Important to Apple as They Say? Over the last couple of weeks, multiple nude photos of celebrities have been (and continue to be) leaked due to a hacker being able to figure out the usernames and passwords to their Apple iCloud accounts. Celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna and Jenny McCarthy have been affected by this recent hack but they’re just the tip of the iceberg. Apple’s investigation is ongoing but they released a statement through Spokeswoman Natalie Kerris saying that they “take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report.” This recent infiltration of Apple’s iCloud made me realize how much we as a society use our phones to do almost everything (taking photos/videos, paying bills, managing bank accounts, etc…). More importantly it made me wonder how safe this information on our phones really is. Obviously the security measures in place at Apple aren’t what they should be if a hacker can run a simple “common password” software and potentially access the personal files of any user they choose. This security breach made me step back and take a look at not only Apple’s current security measures but those of other companies/phone carriers. This controversy has raised many questions, the most important of those questions being whether Apple and other companies are taking user security as seriously as they lead us to believe and the answer to that question is no. Apple dropped the ball by not addressing this problem immediately and now the public wants to know more. Apple says they’re doing everything they can to “amp” up security but with security questions still being raised we wonder if that’s the truth. With the recently released Apple Pay program already experiencing security issues, ignored security warnings by Apple’s security department and Apple partnering with companies that have a history of vulnerable security practices are indications that Apple hasn’t tightened its security practices as much as they said they would. With the recent release of the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, Apple has introduced users to a new payment system called “Apple Pay.” The idea of Apple Pay is to make purchases at certain businesses hassle free, more convenient and just overall faster by allowing users to tap their phones on a keypad device and have the payment taken out of their account immediately. Yes this new method of pay is fast and easy but how secure will it be? When Apple Pay was first released consumers were skeptical about the security of Apple Pay. Since it’s initial release those concerns seem to have been waranted. No new system is perfect but with the private info being sent over this system it should be as airtight as possible and it hasnt been so far. Some consumers are already voicing concerns about how secure Apple Pay will be. "With the introduction of this type of functionality into a platform, it makes every device a possible target” (Wagenseil). Some of the companies that have agreed to carry Apple Pay and its compatible software include companies that have also been the victims of recent hacks (McDonalds, Target, and Home Depot), raising more concerns in the minds of the consumer. Both Apple and the companies they’re partnering with know they need to be on the same page when it comes to keeping the information sent over Apple Pay secure. Apple assures this security by linking your credit card information to your Apple account (which most already are) and sending out a one time, one use credit card number to the business you’re buying from. Once this number is used, it’s discarded of and never used again, Apple also says none of your personal information is with that temporary number so that your personal information isn’t stored within the businesses database either. Although Apple Pay does everything it says its going to do, Mike Park of Trustware (a private security firm) ran test on several Apple Pay transactions and came to find that