Apple has enjoyed enormous good will from the creative community for decades. Even before the iPod, iPhone, iPad juggernaut was launched, the creative class stood by Apple–making the brand the go-to computer for designers, animators, photographers and others in the creative professions. Now on the eve of Apple’s big announcement about its next-gen iPhone 6 and new smartwatch, Apple is facing a brutal reality: the hacking of the iCloud has made the company look vulnerable. And worse, it’s the creative class–in this case entertainers, actresses and singers mostly–whose privacy has been violated. You were supposed to keep us safe, the celebs in unison are saying to Apple, we trusted you and you let us down.
There is still no confirmation from Apple that the iCloud is safe. And it’s not just nude photos that people are worried about–a further breach could access all kinds of sensitive information, including critical financial data and information to make identity theft easier. Apple, despite the legal smallprint about using the iCloud and the potential for problems, is surely a target for a massive lawsuit based simply on the celebrity photo hack. If the iCloud is determined to be even less secure than already thought, there will be enormous numbers of people available for a class-action suit against the company. Trust is expensive to build, and Apple paid its dues to build it with consumers. The loss of trust that may result from newly exposed security oversights in the iCloud development may be even more expensive.
