'Cloud' concerns after celebrity picture leaks

Experts have raised concerns over the security of "cloud" storage sites following the leak of intimate pictures of celebrities.

It is understood some of the images were obtained from services such as Apple iCloud that back up content from devices on to the internet.

Apple is understood to be looking into the issue.

One expert said that private data "becomes much more difficult to control" when using cloud services.

"It is important for celebrities and the general public to remember that images and data no longer just reside on the device that captured it," said Ken Westin, security analyst at Tripwire.

"Although many cloud providers may encrypt the data communications between the device and the cloud, it does not mean that the image and data is encrypted when the data is at rest.

"If you can view the image in the cloud service, so can a hacker."

Apple has not commented on speculation regarding iCloud's security, nor the celebrity leak.

:story: BBC News