FBI arrests man over hacking of naked photos of Hollywood stars
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The FBI yesterday arrested a man as part of its investigation into the alleged hacking of Hollywood celebrities' phones and email accounts which saw naked pictures of actress Scarlett Johansson leaked online last month.
Christopher Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, Florida, was arrested as part of a year-long investigation that has been dubbed "Operation Hackerazzi". He was released on a $10,000 bond after a brief court appearance. He has been charged with 26 counts of identity theft, unauthorised access to a protected computer and wiretapping. He faces up to 121 years in jail if convicted.
Johansson, Mila Kunis and Christina Aguilera were all confirmed to have been victims and were praised by US Attorney Andre Birotte Jr for allowing their names to be made public. Others are said to include Jessica Alba and actress and singer Vanessa Hudgens, naked pictures of whom were also released online in March after being stolen from her Gmail account.
Up to 50 women are thought to have been affected.
The investigation began in late 2010 as reports began to surface of celebrities' mobile phones and computers being hacked into.
A hacking group called Hollywood Leaks, which said it had ties with Anonymous, claimed responsibility for the attack on Ms Johansson, but their assertions could not be verified. And it was reported yesterday that the hacker arrested was in fact working alone and made no financial gain from releasing the images. According to the celebrity gossip blog TMZ, the FBI is "convinced the guy is a lone wolf, who never got a cent for the pictures he stole... he just did it for the thrill."
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments