I grew up with the saying, “surely your sin will find you out.” As I am sure many of you know, several celebrities, such as Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton, have experienced this in an all too real way over the past few weeks.
While the morality may be debated — I myself fall in the mindset that clothes exist for a reason when it comes to cameras — nude photos are nothing new in our day and age. Billions of dollars are reaped in profits from this industry annually, and celebrities have been known to sell photos into this business over the years.
What makes this case significantly different is the fact the photos came from very personal folders in a ghastly act of thievery.
As a result, I question the security of programs such as, in this case, iCloud. Apple’s iCloud works by backing up information on phones and computers onto a virtual internet folder. Even after pictures and notes are deleted off of a physical device they remain alive, albeit buried in the password-protected web.
Apple has denied the allegation its product is to blame in this case.
“None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone,” representatives said on the Apple website last week. Instead, they fault the individual attackers.
How are we to respond? I believe this event makes for a good reminder to check our own security. Paranoia aside, precautions can be put in place to lessen breeches such as this one.
First of all, we should become aware of the apps we use. It is okay to use things such as SnapChat, as long as we do so with open eyes. We must understand none of those photos simply go away forever. Avoid snapping or sending anything risqué.
Second, we need to check the status of our passwords and user names. How strong are they? Don’t be “that guy (or girl)” who uses “password” as their password. It’s just not smart.
Third, tightening security can never happen too often. Check which applications on your phone currently run location services or access photos — even if they don’t require it in order to function — for example, camera, Instagram and VSCOcam. Sure it’s cool to geotag a photo occasionally, but many people have unwittingly given away their home addresses due to the fact nearly every photo shot on a smartphone has latitude and longitude coordinates imbedded within it. For safety, turn off location services for as many apps as possible. As a plus, when you reduce the number of apps connecting constantly to the network in this way you can improve your phone’s battery life.
Most importantly, we need to beware of where we store our photos. While it is true hacking is absolutely wrong and should never be tolerated, it is also a fact of life people are evil and nothing is ever 100 percent secure. Take note of the documents, memos and photos you choose to store on iCloud, Shoebox or similar services. The purpose of these sites is to free up space on our computers and phones by storing the stuff through another format — i.e., another server besides our own. The downside, however, is the increased vulnerability to attacks. Consider not saving your most private items to anything involving the Internet.
Jennifer Lawrence is one of my favorite actresses, primarily because she’s a huge advocate for healthy body images. She does not condone going to extremes in order to comply with the media’s definition of beauty. While I may wonder why she took these photos in the first place, I’m saddened the tentacles of objectification have sought to reach her in this way against her will. We need to protest acts like this one by staying far away from any sites displaying the stolen property, and guard our own private materials to keep ourselves and each other safe.
