Regardless of how the attack was executed, it did happen and consumers of cloud-based services should remember that there are risks when storing data with a third party, King says.

"Just because you're using a cloud service doesn't obviate the need for backing up data to a local hard drive," King says. "Like anything else the online data repositories are not infallible, and it's critical for consumers and businesses to protect their data and protect themselves in multiple ways."

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