Reports on various social media platforms this morning, as noted by 9to5Mac have revealed a significant number of Apple users have discovered that their Apple ID accounts have been locked out, requiring them to go through the password reset process in order to regain access. While account lockouts can occur for various reasons, the most common is a result of several failed password entries.
This suggests that the problem may have been triggered by hackers attempting to brute-force the passwords for a large number of Apple IDs, although there could be other factors at work as well, including the possibility of a glitch in Apple’s authentication systems. Since an Apple ID is used to access everything from the iTunes Store and iCloud to services like iMessage and FaceTime, users are encountering this problem in various areas, and are normally being required to go through the process of answering security questions and providing their phone number in order to reset their password.
MacRumors has also noted that at least some of the users impacted have stated that they are using two-factor authentication and a unique password for their Apple ID, suggesting that this is not merely impacting less secure accounts. Apple has not yet offered any indication as to why this is happening, nor have they responded to any requests for comment.
