Customers in need of assistance directed to iforgot.apple.com

Aug 9, 2012 08:12 GMT  ·  By

A temporary suspension is now in place for Apple’s phone-based password change service, as the company words to instate new security policies, following an incident involving an iCloud account getting hacked.

After Wired editor Mat Honan reported his mishap, Apple began investigating the problem and set in place a 24-hour freeze on phone-based password resets for Apple accounts. Apple has put an unlimited halt on the service, and now asks customers who wish to reset passwords to use the recovery webpage.

Apple spokesperson Natalie Kerris provided TNW with official word from the company, saying, “We’ve temporarily suspended the ability to reset AppleID passwords over the phone.”

“We’re asking customers who need to reset their password to continue to use our online iForgot system (iforgot.apple.com),” Kerris said.

Apple also informed the site that customers would be required to provide “even stronger” passwords when the service goes back online.