Apple plans to strengthen data security with new features

Apple plans to strengthen iCloud data security by adding a trio of new features in the coming year. One of these is available for beta testers.

Apple AAPL's shares fell by 1.3% in recent trading to an intraday low of $140.58, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, which counts Apple as a component, was flat. The S&P 500 index SPX, slipped 0.2%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, declined 0.4%.

In a statement from Craig Federighi, Apple's head of software engineering, said that our security teams work tirelessly to keep users data safe, and with iMessage Contact Key Verification, Security Keys and Advanced Data Protection for iCloud users will have three powerful new tools to protect their most sensitive data and communications.

Advanced Data Protection for iCloud, which is available to U.S. beta testers and scheduled to be available to US users by the end of the year, broadens the number of categories of what are encrypted to 23, including iCloud Backup, Notes and Photos, from a current 14. Apple said the only major categories that won't get the encryption are iCloud Mail, Contacts and Calendar because of the need to interoperate with the global email, contacts, and calendar systems. A support guide for Advanced Data Protection for iCloud is available on Apple's website.

In early 2023, Apple plans to release Security Keys for Apple ID, which is an additional layer of factor verification — third-party hardware security keys for users to access their Apple ID. With the two-factor ID released in 2015, Apple said 95% of users already have the feature enabled.

It takes our two-factor authentication even further, preventing even an advanced attacker from obtaining a user's second factor in a phishing scam, Apple said.

In 2023, Apple plans to launch iMessage Contact Key Verification for users who are facing extraordinary digital threats, such as journalists, human rights activists, and members of the government, a service that allows users to verify that they are communicating only with intended recipients.