Apple says celebs hacked in ‘targeted attack’

Apple Inc. said on Tuesday the attacks that emerged over the Labor Day weekend on celebrities’ iCloud accounts were individually targeted, and that none of the cases it investigated had resulted from a breach of its systems. The statement was the first since the release over the weekend of private, nude pictures of dozens of celebrities. The Apple statement suggested that the celebrities had their accounts hacked by using easy-to-guess passwords, or by giving up their personal data to cybercriminals posing as Apple, a technique known as “phishing.”

None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple’s systems including iCloud or Find My iPhone.

Apple statement

The hackers behind the leak will likely face jail time, if previous cases are any indication. In December 2012, Christopher Chaney was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to hacking into the personal email accounts of stars including Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis and Christina Aguilera. Hacking is a computer crime, and at least one of the affected actresses, Jennifer Lawrence, has been clear about wanting to prosecute, through a statement by her attorney.

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