Hacker sentenced to 18 months over celebrity nude photo leak
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Lancaster, Pa., man was sentenced to 18 months in prison on charges of hacking into celebrity email accounts and obtaining nude photographs of Jennifer Lawrence, Ariana Grande, Kate Upton, and others.
Ryan Collins, 36, pled guilty in March to a felony violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Investigators said that they have not uncovered any evidence linking Collins to the actual leaks of the photos or that he shared or uploaded the information he obtained.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Authorities said that Collins engaged in a phishing scheme to obtain user names and passwords. He then sent emails that appeared to be from Apple or Google and asked users to provide user names or passwords.
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Investigators said that he would use a software program to download the entire contents of victims’ Apple iCloud backups and that he also ran a modeling scam in which he tricked some into sending him nude photos.
U.S. Attorney Bruce Brandler, in a press release, said that he accessed at least 50 iCloud accounts and 72 Gmail accounts, many of which belonged to female celebrities.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The FBI launched an investigation into the hacked photos in September 2014, in what became to be known as “Celebgate.”
In July, a Chicago man plead guilty to charges of hacking into the accounts of 300 people, including 30 celebrities.