How Secure is Your Data On iCloud?

The recent massive iCloud hack on famous Hollywood celebrity devices have left them perplexed with the leak of their private photographs and videos on the internet. The hacker had publicly put them on the internet for the exchange of money.

The happening of the hack raises the concern about the security of the iCloud on Apple devices. Do you use iCloud on your Apple device? How secure do you think it is?

Apple has already talked about the security and privacy of the iCloud in its support portal in the past. Let’s take a look at the security features of Apple’s iCloud in brief.

What Apple Promises About iCloud Data Security?

Apple promises to keep the data secured in the cloud in all times of storage and retrieval. According to Apple, one has to get the authentication tokens to store or retrieve the data to and from the cloud respectively. They also claim to be using 128 bit AES encryption technology to secure data during the dual communication and data transfer process.

There by, Apple summarizes how the data is secured while using various iCloud features. The table is as follows:

Data	Encryption		Notes
	In transit	On server
Calendars	Yes	Yes	A minimum of 128-bit AES encryption
Contacts	Yes	Yes
Bookmarks	Yes	Yes
Reminders	Yes	Yes
Photos	Yes	Yes
Documents in the Cloud	Yes	Yes
Backup	Yes	Yes
Find My iPhone	Yes	Yes
Find My Friends	Yes	Yes
iCloud Keychain	Yes	Yes	Uses 256-bit AES encryption to store and transmit passwords and credit card information. Also uses elliptic curve asymmetric cryptography and key wrapping.
iCloud.com	Yes	N/A	All sessions at iCloud.com are encrypted with SSL. Any data accessed via iCloud.com is encrypted on server as indicated in this table.
Back to My Mac	Yes	N/A	Back to My Mac does not store data on iCloud. Data retrieved from other computers is encrypted with SSL while in transit.
iTunes in the Cloud	Yes	N/A	Purchased or matched music files are not encrypted on server because they do not contain any personal information.
Mail and Notes	Yes	No	All traffic between your devices and iCloud Mail and Notes is encrypted with SSL. Consistent with standard industry practice, iCloud does not encrypt data stored on IMAP mail servers. All Apple email clients support optional S/MIME encryption.

Tabular Information Source: Apple Support Website

What could have happened in case of massive iCloud hack?

Apple security walls were thought to be strong enough to defend against the attacks until yesterday. When it was once found that it could be cracked easily, people started to fear about the security of their personal and sensitive data.

According to Apple, even a third-party application has to communicate through a secured SSL connection to access iCloud data. If it was that secure, what could have happened with Jennifer Lawrence's’ Apple device? Was it the new heartbleed bug again?

I can’t say anything until Apple responds to the massive hack news.

How to Secure Your Photos?

Let’s not dig into deep. Take care of these basic things while you use iCloud on your Apple device.

• Do not share your private photos to streams.
• Make sure you are sharing them with the right people.
• Take care of applications that are running without your consent.
• Keep an eye on the streams you have shared.

Read the Apple icloud's help topics and educate yourself about the photo-sharing to iCloud.

Have you ever felt like losing privacy on iCloud? Share your experiences with the iCloud in comments below.