Apple: Nude Celebrity Photo Hacks Were Not Result of iCloud or Find my iPhone Breaches

Over the weekend, authentic nude photos of dozens of celebrties of varying fame and industries were leaked onto the world wide web, igniting an internet frenzy that has spawned myriad discussions over everything from privacy and security to what constitutes sexual assault.

One major topic of discussion is Apple. Why? Because the photos in the leak—which the FBI is now investigating—are believed to have been access via the tech giant’s iCloud service.

Apple, consequently, has been caught in the PR storm as much as all the celebrities’ staff. Today the Cupertino company issued an official media advisory as it tries to calm the nerves of its many millions of iCloud users.

“When we learned of the theft, we were outraged and immediately mobilized Apple’s engineers to discover the source,” Apple explains. “After more than 40 hours of investigation, we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet.”

“None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone,” the company continued. “We are continuing to work with law enforcement to help identify the criminals involved.”

To protect against this type of attack, Apples advise all users to always use a strong password and enable two-step verification.

“Our customers’ privacy and security are of utmost importance to us,” Apple affirmed in the advisory.