Apple has just announced end-to-end encryption for iCloud storage. Privacy proponents are praising it, and the FBI is panning it. What does it mean for you? How can you install it?

The new encryption capability comes in three advanced security features focused on protecting against threats to user data in the cloud, which Apple says represents the next step in its ongoing effort to provide users with even stronger ways to protect their data.

• With iMessage Contact Key Verification, users can verify they are communicating only with whom they intend.
• With Security Keys for Apple ID, users have the choice to require a physical security key to sign-in to their Apple ID account.
• With Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, which uses end-to-end encryption to provide Apple’s highest level of cloud data security, users have the choice to further protect important iCloud data, including iCloud Backup, Photos, Notes, and more.

Protecting sensitive data has always been a concern for businesses and individuals on a daily basis. We don’t want people snooping, nor do we want any unauthorized access to personal financial and health data or critical corporate information. We may also have personal reasons for keeping meeting and travel plans discreet.

Tensions about encryption ratchet up when privacy organizations contend it’s most important to protect individual’s rights, while law enforcement claims it needs access to information for public safety and security. That’s another ongoing discussion that’s beyond us.

As mere mortals, we want to know that only authorized people see our stuff, whether it’s personal or business-related. As hackers or snoops get more sophisticated about breaching our data-protection systems, we want to stay a step ahead of them wherever we can. Apple’s encryption tools can help.

Apple says the total number of data breaches more than tripled between 2013 and 2021, exposing 1.1 billion personal records across the globe in 2021 alone. Increasingly, companies across the technology industry are addressing this growing threat by implementing end-to-end encryption in their offerings.

Apple’s new tools will be available in 2023. However, you may already be familiar with some aspects of their technology. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is one form of a security key. iCloud already protects 14 sensitive data categories using end-to-end encryption by default, including passwords in iCloud Keychain and Health data. With Advanced Data Protection, the total number of data categories protected using end-to-end encryption rises to 23, including iCloud Backup, Notes, and Photos.

As Apple’s advanced encryption technology becomes available, we’ll be there to help you install and configure the technology to work for you. Call us – 973-433-6676 – or email us if you have any questions.