A document containing multiple nude and semi-nude photos from the likes of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Victoria Justice and many more celebrities leaked on 4chan Sunday, prompting an uproar in the Internet community.
But for the first time the tumult wasn't about the stars taking racy photos of themselves, it was about the way their privacy was violated when an undisclosed person supposedly hacked into their iCloud accounts and stole the snapshots.
The pictures found their way onto Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr and multiple gossip sites soon after they were released, but sharers were blocked form the social media sites or took the images off their websites after Lawrence's manager stepped forward to say that the Oscar-winning actress would take legal action against any site that posted the illegally-obtained photos.
The Hunger Games star was the main victim in Sunday's hacking as the person who broke into her computer claims to have accessed over 60 nude, semi-nude and bathing suit shots, as well as video from the actress.
Upton's attorney said the leaked images were "an outrageous violation" of the model's privacy.
Sources told CNN that some of the victims "have engaged with the FBI" in an attempt to find, expose and charge the culprit.
"The FBI is aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals, and is addressing the matter," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said Monday. "Any further comment would be inappropriate at this time."
Other celebrities targeted by the attack like Justice and Ariana Grande have brushed off the leak and denied the photos are real.
In a previous case, Florida native Christopher Chaney was charged with 10 years in jail after hacking into the email accounts of celebrities like Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis and Christina Aguilera. While Chaney used the "forgot my password" function to hack into the emails, the new hack is believed to have been done by using Apple's "Find My Phone" app.
Apple said in a statement it is looking into claims that the iCloud data bank was broken into by hackers.
"We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report," Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris said.
A master list that purportedly contains the names of all the victims of the hack list dozens of female stars whose pictures have yet to surface including Kim Kardashian, Mary-Kate Olsen, Aubrey Plaza, Avril Lavigne and more.
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