Apple has acknowledged that hackers actually broke into accounts of several celebrities to steal personal photos that have been posted online, while blaming the breach on the intruders' ability to figure out passwords, thereby bypassing other safeguards.

The company, however maintains that none of the cases investigated has resulted from any breach in any of its systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone.

The compromise which led to private photos and videos of celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton, been released on internet meme site 4chan, has again called to point that not even Apple, with its acclaimed security systems is hack-proof. Apple's iCloud, which is widely used by iPhone and iPad owners to store personal photos, may have thereby suffered a massive security lapse.

In a statement, the company advised users to switch to stronger passwords and enable two-step authentication in the aftermath of the hacking attacks.

HackApp had posted a proof of concept exploit for an iCloud flaw the day before the attack, with the "iBrute" vulnerability flooding the Find My iPhone website, resulting Apple to now lockout its online accounts after five unsuccessful password attempts.

Apple iCloud hack Aftermath

Apple has acknowledged that hackers actually broke into accounts of several celebrities to steal personal photos that have been posted online, while blaming the breach on the intruders' ability to figure out passwords, thereby bypassing other safeguards.

The company, however maintains that none of the cases investigated has resulted from any breach in any of its systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone.

The compromise which led to private photos and videos of celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton, been released on internet meme site 4chan, has again called to point that not even Apple, with its acclaimed security systems is hack-proof. Apple's iCloud, which is widely used by iPhone and iPad owners to store personal photos, may have thereby suffered a massive security lapse.

In a statement, the company advised users to switch to stronger passwords and enable two-step authentication in the aftermath of the hacking attacks.

HackApp had posted a proof of concept exploit for an iCloud flaw the day before the attack, with the "iBrute" vulnerability flooding the Find My iPhone website, resulting Apple to now lockout its online accounts after five unsuccessful password attempts.