Almost all of the “iCloud Leaks” aka “The Fappening” occurred because hackers could infiltrate an iCloud account, then use software to exfiltrate the contents o

Almost all of the “iCloud Leaks” aka “The Fappening” occurred because hackers could infiltrate an iCloud account, then use software to exfiltrate the contents of backed up iPhones/iPads, in addition to the user’s photo streams. The backups often contained unsync’d photos, some that were even deleted. This was a massive PR hit for Apple that continues to this day. My guess is that they saw encrypted backups as a solution to the leak problem, but the FBI has long used iOS backups as a back door into increasingly difficult and expensive to crack iPhones. Phone analysis is the #1 most common investigative tool for federal (and now, all) law enforcement, so turning off a major tool likely required intervention at the highest levels of government. Big brother does not like losing their spying abilities.