Apple announced the launch of end-to-end encryption protections in its iCloud service. The feature debuts today for users enrolled in Apple’s Beta Software Program. It will be available to United States users by the end of the year and will start rolling out globally in early 2023.

Advanced Data Protection is Apple’s highest level of cloud data security, giving users the choice to protect the vast majority of their most sensitive iCloud data with end-to-end encryption so that it can only be decrypted on their trusted devices,” apple security engineering chief Ivan Krstic said.

In a blog post, Apple said “enhanced security for users’ data in the cloud is more urgently needed than ever,” citing research that says data breaches have more than tripled over the past eight years.

“With iMessage Contact Key Verification, users who face extraordinary digital threats — such as journalists, human rights activists, and members of government — can choose to further verify that they are messaging only with the people they intend, it wrote in a blog post.

Two-factor Authentication

“Conversations between users who have enabled iMessage Contact Key Verification receive automatic alerts if an exceptionally advanced adversary, such as a state-sponsored attacker, were to succeed breaching cloud servers and inserting their own device to eavesdrop on these encrypted communications. And for even higher security, iMessage Contact Key Verification users can compare a Contact Verification Code in person, on FaceTime, or through another secure call,” Apple said.

The company also plans to add support for third-party physical security keys, a feature aimed at helping celebrities, journalists and government figures to have an additional layer of multi-factor authentication.

“For users who opt in, Security Keys strengthens Apple’s two-factor authentication by requiring a hardware security key as one of the two factors. This takes our two-factor authentication even further, preventing even an advanced attacker from obtaining a user’s second factor in a phishing scam,” Apple added.

Other tech company which have already offered end-to-end encryption are messaging app, WhatsApp, and Signal, a communications app prized by journalists, dissidents, human rights activists and other dealers in sensitive data.