How Cloud Storage Helps Catch Hackers
This article will be dedicated to one of those achievements of the IT industry that, one can confidently say, has made our lives more convenient. We will talk about cloud storage. I have previously discussed how files from your personal cloud can become publicly accessible, how clouds often only simulate data deletion, keeping it stored. There are many questions regarding cloud storage. This time, we will discuss how intelligence agencies use cloud data for tracking hackers.
I will illustrate this with the example of iOS and iCloud, as they were the reason for the capture of the hacker discussed below. However, all the advice provided is universal and can equally be applied to Android, Windows, and any other systems where cloud data synchronization is used.
After all, just think about how great it is: you buy a new iPhone, start it up, and all your notes, Pages documents - everything is automatically restored from Apple’s servers. And there would be nothing wrong with this if Apple used end-to-end encryption that would eliminate the possibility of third-party access to the data. Yes, there would be a risk of losing all data if the key were lost, but this risk would be fully justified by the level of security provided to the user.
Unfortunately, Apple abandoned the idea of end-to-end encryption for data in the iCloud storage, where access to data at the level of Apple servers would be practically impossible (unless, of course, they also stored the key). Currently, all the history of visited websites; any text added to a note; any document you create in Pages - all of this, with default settings, is sent to Apple’s servers, analyzed, and may be accessible to intelligence agencies.
It may come as a surprise to you, but all the photos you upload to iCloud are analyzed by Apple. According to official data obtained from the company’s privacy director, Jane Horvat, they only search for images of child abuse and only take action if such images are discovered. We do not know what algorithms they use, what they are looking for, and what measures they take, but we do know for sure that any photo uploaded to iCloud will be checked.