The iCloud hack that made headlines this weekend, in which nude photos of about 100 celebrities were stolen from their Apple accounts and posted online, highlights an indirect threat to banks. Granted, the risk that hackers would spend time trying to break into a bank employee’s iCloud account to find compromising photos is remote. But the very fact that hackers accessed sensitive content stored in a popular cloud service through individual cloud accounts is a warning sign to banks that let employees use any kind of consumer-oriented cloud backup service.
Even though Apple is disputing whether hackers actually accessed celebrities’ iCloud accounts, the warning signs are clear for all financial institutions and banking customers to be vigilant about potential security and access issues, particularly safeguarding passwords. With more and more applications being deployed via various remote solutions – many of them via some form of cloud solutions – the opportunities for hackers are increasing, and will continue to be a challenge for FIs for the foreseeable future.
Overview by Ed O’Brien, Director, Banking Channels Advisory Services
To read the full story, go to American Banker.