In addition to the redesigned home screen with widgets, the App Library, and more, iOS 14 and iPadOS 14 as well as macOS 11 Big Sur bring important improvements to the iCloud Keychain – including a particularly helpful security feature.
As part of the new iOS version, Apple has also revised the iCloud keychain and implemented a feature that provides users with useful information about their passwords. If you don't know the keychain yet, here's a brief summary. Users can save their passwords or complete access data for websites and apps in the iCloud keychain. If an iPhone, iPad or Mac is linked to iCloud, this data can be accessed easily and securely - authentication using Face ID or Touch ID is required.
iOS 14: Security warnings become more specific
In addition, it is also possible to generate a new password through the keychain. In iOS 14, the keychain gets a new menu called "Security Recommendations". This contains information about urgent security risks. This means that within the "Security Recommendations" accounts are displayed that have passwords that may have been leaked, have been assigned twice, and more. In fact, iOS now shows a specific problem for each individual password and motivates users to assign stronger passwords. Some of these functions were already available in iOS 13, but have been expandedHere are some examples of security warnings:
- Many people use this password, making it easy to guess.
- This password is easy to guess.
- This password uses the sequence “123”. Using comma patterns makes passwords easy to guess.
But now comes the highlight of the innovations in this area. According to Apple, the iCloud keychain checks whether saved passwords have already been cracked and are openly accessible on the Internet. This check is made possible with the help of Safari, based on strong cryptographic techniques. This is how Apple describes the feature:
Comparison is done by Safari
Safari securely monitors your saved passwords and automatically looks for passwords that may have been involved in a data breach. To do this, Safari uses strong cryptographic techniques to periodically compare the derivations of your passwords against a list of breached passwords in a secure and private way that doesn't reveal your password information - not even to Apple. If Safari detects a breach, it can help you upgrade to Sign in with Apple when available or automatically generate a new strong password.
In addition to the iCloud keychain improvements, Apple has already launched an open source project announced, which is designed to help developers support strong passwords that are compatible with popular websites. In addition, support for Touch ID and Face ID will also be integrated using the Safari Web Authentication API. AirPods Pro on special offer at Amazon – now available for 213 euros. (Photo by Denys Prykhodov / Bigstockphoto)
- When will iOS 14 be released for all users?
- Public Beta: How to test iOS 14
- macOS 11 Big Sur: Faster software updates
