Imagine that happening to you, your Twitter account, and your devices.

True, Honan made some errors in his personal security and backup-planning which he regrets and details in his informative and often heart-rending article. But like us, he's human. What tripped him up (along with his own less-than-best practices) were security-measures built into Apple and Amazon's online services which, combined with clever social engineering on the part of the bad guys, including compromising his Gmail account.

Honan details the process precisely--using phrases I hope I'll never have to write. I cover security and advise people on how to handle their personal security perimeters. After reading Honan's article, I've gone in and changed a few things. It's that critical.

Honan contends that in a cloud-centric environment, passwords no longer provide adequate security. "Cloud-based systems need fundamentally different security measures," he wrote.

The man has a point. And while he mostly blames himself for failing to back up critical data, he reserves bitter ire for Apple's evolution into iCloud. "I bought into the Apple account system originally to buy songs at 99 cents a pop, and over the years that same ID has evolved into a single point of entry that controls my phones, tablets, computers and data-driven life," wrote Honan. "With this AppleID, someone can make thousands of dollars of purchases in an instant, or do damage at a cost that you can't put a price on."