If you're an Apple user, you need to sit down and secure your Apple iCloud account. According to reports, a hacker group by the name of 'Turkish Crime Family' claims to have access to over 250 million Apple iCloud accounts, and are threatening to reset all of these, and delete user data. Unless Apple pays them $75,000 in bitcoin or nearly $100,000 iTunes gift cards, according to a report on MotherBoard. So what does it mean for you, the Apple user? And what should you do to protect your iCloud account? Here is everything you need to know. What's the group claiming? What is Apple's response to this whole thing? The hacker group has allegedly shared screenshots of their email interaction with Apple's Security team with Motherboard as well. Additionally the hackers have accessed some accounts, and claim they can do a complete reset, data wipe for all of these 250 million accounts. According to a report on Wired, Apple has been given a deadline of April 7, till this data reset takes place. Apple for its part is insisting there is no data breach on the iCloud service, and the breach has come via third-party services. “We’re actively monitoring to prevent unauthorized access to user accounts and are working with law enforcement to identify the criminals involved,” is what Apple said in a statement. For now there's no way of knowing or confirming if there has been a breach or not for sure. But the hackers have shown access to some accounts, which is worrying. What should an Apple iCloud user do? This is a good time to do a security review of your Apple iCloud account. Remember your iPhone, Mac, etc are all linked to the iCloud, and if you are backing up all your data on iCloud, you could find yourself at risk. First up, it would be a good idea to take a hard backup of important documents, photos, files, etc. Preferably on a separate hard disk, which is also encrypted. If your iCloud password is your first name or second name and or combination of letters/numbers, you use in every other password, now is the time to change this. An iCloud account is not the same as an account you might make for a new shopping service. It is linked to some of your most valuable data, and you need to keep it safe. Also read: Apple: Software flaws in latest WikiLeaks docs are all fixed For starters, your password should be minimum of 12 characters; go with a phrase or a name that not every one in the world knows. Also don't use your birthday or your spouse's birthday in the password, because if this information is on social media, then it's a waste of time. Your can rely on password generating apps to store this bit of information as well to make the task easier if you can't think of something complicated. Is there two-factor authentication on Apple iCloud? Good morning, it's been there for sometime. Two-factor authentication is an important measure; every time you log into iCloud on a new browser or computer or device, you will be prompted for a security code. To activate, go to Apple.com, and login with your iCloud id. Scroll down to security, you will see Two-Factor authentication as one of the options. Just tap on that, and once it is activated, you can decide which devices you should receive your security code. If you have a Mac, iPhone use those as trusted devices. Every time you log into iCloud on a new browser, like Chrome via the iCloud website, a six-digit security code will flash on your trusted device, which could be your Mac or iPhone. Without this code, you won't be allowed to login. So next time, someone else tries to access your account on a different device, you'll get an alert along with the security code. This way hackers can't access your account, unless they have access to the trusted physical device. Given that your Apple device is likely linked with a lot of personal information, including debit or credit cards, it is best to be safe and go for a security review of your iCloud account.
