If your Apple ID ever gets hacked and the hacker manages to change the phone number linked to the ID, you have no recourse, and Apple will not be able to do anything at all.
What Happened: Packy McCormick, cryptocurrency advisor to venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, was on the receiving end of Apple Inc.'s (NASDAQ:AAPL) sometimes frustrating security measures.
McCormick has lost access to his iCloud after his Apple ID was hacked. The hacker managed to enter the correct password and also bypass Apple's two-factor authentication (2FA) prompt that McCormick said he denied by tapping "Don't Allow".
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While it's not clear yet as to how the hacker managed to obtain the right password and also bypass Apple's 2FA security, McCormick has lost access to his iCloud data, and there's nothing that Apple can do about it.
"That is absolutely f****** insane. I've had the same phone number tied to that account for over a decade, and I still control the email connected to the account, and there's nothing Apple can do?" said McCormick.
My iCloud was hacked the other night. Not sure how (although I got the password changed email exactly the same minute I tweeted about Siri being bad...)
— Packy McCormick (@packyM) November 27, 2023
Hacker changed the phone number on the account, so there's nothing Apple can do.
That is absolutely fucking insane. I've had...
According to McCormick, this is what Apple's customer support person told him: "Well, how did they get your password? They shouldn't have had that. there's nothing we can do once they change the number."
This is not a new problem, either. Hundreds of users have been posting about this issue for several years now, and Apple has not addressed it yet.
Users have also taken to Reddit to report this problem, stating that they have lost access to their accounts and Apple cannot do anything about it.
Why It Matters: Two-factor authentication is intended to improve account security. However, in Apple's case, it has made matters worse for users with hacked accounts.
The most significant impact of this is losing access to iCloud, so the hacker can now access any photos, videos, and other files backed up to your Apple account while the victim is locked out.
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