Tony Anscombe, Chief Security Evangelist at ESET, spoke with SHEFinds.com about some of the more common signs of a hack.
“If you receive an email titled ‘Your Apple ID was used to sign in to iCloud via a web browser,’ Anscombe says. “If two-factor authentication is switched off on the iCloud account, the sending email address is valid (noreply@email.apple.com) and the iCloud account details provided in the email are correct then it appears someone may be signed in using your account. Check where your Apple ID is being used. If it’s in use on a device that you don’t recognize or own, then someone else may have used your account details to sign in.”
Anscombe says to check sent emails, calendar entries and other apps for data that you don’t recognize as yours. “If you have two-factor authentication switched on then devices associated to your account are alerted when an unknown/new device attempts to sign in to your iCloud account,” Anscombe says. “It will also show the general location of the new device on a map.”
Next, check iCloud email – look for emails confirming or offering password reset notices, possibly for other accounts, according to Anscombe. Then check the transactions on the payment card associated with the iCloud account.
If you suspect you have been hacked, don’t panic. Anscombe provides the following five steps you should take immediately:
1. Sign into the iCloud account and change your password and then turn on two factor authentication either from a iPad or iPhone or through the system preferences on a Mac. This is of course assuming the person with unauthorized access has not already locked you out of the account.
2. Change the password on your email account, you need to protect email as this is likely to be a method of verifying your identity when attempting to regain access to your account.
3. Force sign-out of all the browsers that are signed into your iCloud account, this is an option in the iCloud Settings page.
4. Call Apple’s tech support team to retake account access, you will need other devices linked to the account or specific details held on the account to validate your identity.
5. Inform the FTC’s IC3 team of the potential identity theft.
Hacks are a scary reality of using tech devices. But keeping an eye out for signs of a hack and addressing them right away will put you in a better position to protect your data.