The news of leaked celebrity images and iCloud hackings has certainly affected Apple’s position, especially in the run up to its iPhone 6 and iWatch launch. With subversive sites such as 4chan seen as an attractive place to post such content, we were interested to find out how we can ensure our data stays protected.

So just what is 4chan? The site’s layout is based on an imageboard forum, where the majority of users post anonymously.  Much of its content revolves around anime, manga, subculture, and pranks, while attacks and hijackings of other websites are a common occurrence. 4chan has now made a name for itself as one of the Internet’s most trafficked imageboards, although it has struggled to lure advertisers, many of whom do not wish to be associated with the site’s subversive content. Despite this, 4chan has gained prevalence as one of the original sites to feature memes, many of which have made their way into mainstream media.

This latest incident isn’t the first to have hurt Apple’s reputation. Back in October 2008, a hoax story was sent to CNN’s news site, iReport.com with claims that Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack. Apple stock prices fell dramatically following the announcement, with the news being attributed to 4chan. Prior to this on an Apple fan forum back in 2006, the “Leap-A” virus saw leaked photos distributed, revealing the upcoming Leopard operating system. Once installed, the virus spread via iChat, and from computer to computer.

So should it be Apple, or sites and forums who take the blame, for easily allowing hackings to be made public knowledge? The fact is, that iCloud encryption has generally been deemed no worse than that of any other company, with Mashable reporting at this stage that there is “no reason to believe that iCloud is unsafe.” In fact, others believe that public WiFi might be to blame instead- one theory is that the celebrities in question could have been hacked while accessing their iCloud accounts via public Wi-Fi at last week’s Emmy Awards. This would have made it easy for hackers to discover both username and passwords, and therefore not the fault of iCloud’s security system. Secondly, the strength of the user’s password also comes into play, as repeating passwords for multiple accounts, or choosing a weak letter and number combination can help a hacker’s attempts.

Since the hacking, Apple has stated that it plans to create additional security steps, while encouraging users to also put tighter measures in place. This involves the reinforcement of two-factor authentication, which enforces the user to not only be password protected, but also use features such as four-digit one-time codes, or access keys. Furthermore, Apple users will receive push notifications to their iPhones or iPads in the event that someone tries to change their iCloud password, upload any account details to a different device, or access their accounts from an unrecognized device. This adds to Apple’s current measure, whereby users were notified when someone had appeared to change their password, or logged in from an unknown device- the new steps to include any attempts to access iCloud data will hopefully reassure the company’s customers.

Do you think that sites such as 4chan should be moderated or closed down to prevent sensitive information being leaked? Or do you think its Apple’s responsibility to ensure iCloud remains secure and free of technical glitches? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital, and share your thoughts on our Facebook page.