In an ongoing battle with the FBI, Apple is looking forward to strengthen the iCloud backup encryption. A few days ago, there were rumors that Apple was working on making the iCloud backup encryption strong, but we might never have guessed that the company could roll it out this quick. It's true that the iCloud backups are not as strong as the data on your iPhone. This is because the iCloud data is not encrypted the same way as your iOS device. Nonetheless, Apple has the option to decrypt them if need be.
iOS 9.3 Encrypts iCloud Backups Through Passcode
With that said, there was a loophole in the iCloud backup. To address this, Apple has enabled a passcode which will be prompted when users try to restore from an encrypted iCloud Backup. The passcode screen will be automatically prompted and would take you to the restoring from iCloud Backup setup. As reported by a Reddit user, Apple has started to encrypt iCloud backups in iOS 9.3 beta, if you have two-step authentication enabled.
This change will be implemented in iOS 9.3 which will be released on Monday March 21 shortly after the company's 'Let us loop you in' media event. The quick action of adding the iCloud passcode encryption from Apple was possibly implemented in the iOS 9.3 beta 5 or beta 6. It seems the Cupertino giant is looking forward to protect the privacy of its customers to a greater extent.
When trying to restore from the ecrypted iCloud Backup, an error message appears informing that "Access to your account is protected by the passcode for "iPhone". Your passcode is encrypted and cannot be read by Apple." This clears that even Apple itself cannot read the passcode.
iOS 9.3 is just around the corner, which is to be shipped with a bevy of new features. Some of its features include the Night Shift mode, password protected or Touch ID enabled Notes, a revamped News app, Apple Music support in Carplay, data usage details while using Wi-Fi assist, new Health app features and many more. It's clear that iOS 9.3 will be a major upgrade for all iOS users.
In less than 12 hours from now, Apple's 'Let us loop you in' is about to begin, if you're interested in watching it live, Apple is streaming it on iOS, Mac, Android and even Windows PC. If you want to watch it on your Apple TV, then be sure to download the Apple Events app from the tvOS App Store. You can also check the start time of the event for your country from here.
This is it for now, folks. Do you think adding an iCloud passcode encryption is a good move by Apple? Share your views in the comments.