Apple eyes new cloud security steps in wake of hack of celebrity photos

Apple is planning additional steps to keep hackers out of user accounts in the face of the celebrity photo scandal and will aggressively encourage users to take stricter security measures, says CEO Tim Cook.

Apple will alert users through email and push notifications when someone tries to change an account password, restore iCloud data to a new device, or when a device logs into an account for the first time.

Apple is moving quickly to restore confidence in its systems' security ahead of the launch of its new iPhone next week.

Cook told The Wall Street Journal that Apple would broaden its use of the two-factor authentication security system to avoid future intrusions.

That system requires a user to have two of three things to access an account, which may include a password, a separate four-digit one-time code, or a long access key given to the user when they signed up for the service.

Apple said it planned to more aggressively encourage people to turn on the two-factor authentication in the new version of iOS.