Apple Adds Encryption to iCloud Backups

Apple has rolled out several security features that will now offer end-to-end encryption to protect data, including backups, contacts, notes, photos, and wallet passes. The company also announced hardware Security Keys for Apple ID.

FREMONT, CA: End-to-end encryption for iCloud customers' backups is one of the new security measures that Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) unveiled to combat threats to user data in the cloud. iMessage Contact Key Verification, which enables users to confirm they are speaking solely with those they intend, was also introduced by Apple together with end-to-end encryption for iCloud, the company's cloud computing and storage platform.

Apple ID customers now have the option to require two-factor verification to sign into their accounts. Hardware security keys use tools to grant access to a service or application, such as USB thumb drives or near-field communication (NFC) dongles.

In a statement titled Advanced Data Protection, Apple announced that it is extending iCloud's end-to-end encryption capabilities from 14 critical data categories to 23 new categories, including backups, Contacts, Notes, Photos, Voice Memos, and Wallet Passes. Previously, only more sensitive data, such as passwords in the iCloud Keychain and personal health records, could be encrypted using end-to-end iCloud capabilities.

As they are required to interoperate with the global email, contacts, and calendar systems, statements from Apple, iCloud Mail, Contacts, and Calendar are the only data categories currently not covered by Advanced Data Protection.

Members of the Apple Beta Software Program can get Advanced Data Protection for iCloud in the US right now, and all US customers will have access to it before the end of the year. According to Apple, the capability will be available to the rest of the world in early 2023.

Security Keys for Apple ID will be made available internationally in early 2023, along with iMessage Contact Key Verification.

Users can select third-party hardware security keys to construct a two-factor authentication system with Security Keys.

The tool is intended for people who frequently experience coordinated threats to their online accounts owing to their public personas, such as celebrities, journalists, and government officials.

Users will have three strong new tools with iMessage Contact Key Verification, Security Keys, and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud to further protect their most sensitive data and communications.

Apple said that the increased iCloud data security features are required more than ever due to the more than threefold increase in data breaches between 2013 and 2021 "1.1 billion personal records worldwide in 2021 alone will be exposed.

End-to-end encryption is increasingly being used in products by businesses in the technology sector to combat this growing threat. Apple, meanwhile, has lagged in the use of encryption. For instance, Facebook's WhatsApp enabled full encryption for messaging and data backups more than a year ago.