Apple announced on December 7th that expanded end-to-end encryption is coming to iCloud. While this feature is already available for some data in Apple’s cloud platform, such as passwords and credit card data, it will now be available for other information including photos, notes, and iCloud backups. This new feature will be called Advanced Data Protection and rolls out globally in early 2023.
Advanced Data Protection will be optional, as users will have to elect to enable it. Expanded end-to-end encryption would protect customer data even in the event of Apple being breached. Contacts, emails, and calendar data will unfortunately still not be end-to-end encrypted.
This announcement is just one piece of Apple’s security puzzle, as hardware key two-factor authentication and iMessage Contact Key Verification will also roll out in the upcoming year. These new features are coming “as threats to user data become increasingly sophisticated and complex”, according to Apple.
Physical authentication keys are going to be supported by Apple, a feature long requested by consumers. Hardware tokens are particularly strong for two-factor authentication, as hackers can’t obtain access in the ways they can with virtual codes.
iMessage Contact Key Verification will be another layer of protection users can enable. This feature provides users with a Contact Verification Code that they can compare with their digital contact through another channel of communication. This will allow users to verify that they’re talking to the right contact, and not an impersonator.
These new features from Apple are great steps towards more secure data. However, there are still many other measures that can be taken to improve your cybersecurity. If you have any questions about Apple’s upcoming features or how OptfinITy can meet your IT needs, feel free to reach out to us at info@optfinity.com.
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