Crazy Consumer Electronics World: Updated: Apple says iCloud breach not to blame for celebrity photo leaks

The theft of private celebrity photos wasn't the result of an iCloud security breach, Apple announced, contrary to previous reports.

The Cupertino company said in a statement that after more than 40 hours of investigation, it determined "that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions."

Apple called this type of attack, "a practice that has become all too common on the internet."

It concluded that none of photos were obtained through "any breach in any of Apple's systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone."

Son of a breach

The attack saw photos of A-list celebrities hit the web, though some were reportedly fake.

Veracity of photos aside, the leaks raised concerns of the "if it could happen to them, it could happen to anyone" variety, especially since Find my iPhone previously allowed unlimited password entry attempts.

Apple since cut that number down to five, and today it repeated its message that users create a strong password and set-up two-step verification to protect themselves. More information on security is available on the Apple support page.

The company said it's continuing to work alongside law enforcement to track down the celebrity photo leak perpetrators. TechRadar asked Apple if it is any closer to identifying the individual or individuals responsible and whether the company is planning to implement any further security measures as a result of the attack.