Apple Update Enhances Security
BY RIGI ANDRADE
Staff Writer
The recent release of Apple iOS 8 has users feeling more secure about their privacy on their phones than ever before.
“Security and privacy are fundamental to the design of all our hardware, software and services, including iCloud and new services like Apple Pay,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook.
This new, built-in security feature even prevents government officials and advertising agencies from obtaining personal information from phones.
“We don’t build a profile based on your email content or Web browsing habits to sell to advertisers,” said Cook. “We don’t ‘monetize’ the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don’t read your email or your messages to get information to market to you.”
The way Apple keeps information personal is by having the encryption keys stored on the phone, instead of Apples servers. Once encrypted keys leave Apple’s server, it returns in a format that is personal to the iOS 8 users phone, but also cannot be decrypted by hackers.
“Unlike our competitors, Apple cannot bypass your passcode and therefore cannot access this data,” said Cook. “So it’s not technically feasible for us to respond to government warrants for the extraction of this data from devices in their possession running iOS 8.”
The idea to tighten up access to personal information on the phone sprang up after the massive leak of celebrity nude photos over iCloud a few weeks ago. Apple has given users access to a “two-step verification process” for their iCloud accounts.
“Two-step verification is an optional security measure in which the company sends a text message with a code to a user’s phone that they must enter to complete the login process,” CBS news reported.
iOS 8 is out now and can be downloaded from the settings app on the iPhone.
