US
‘The Fappening’ Hacker Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison
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A man was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to hacking the online accounts of more than 100 celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence and Rihanna, and obtaining access to personal nude photos.
Ryan Collins, a 36-year old from Lancaster County, Penn., admitted to gaining illegal access to the Apple and Google email accounts of members of the entertainment industry.
Thousands of photographs of numerous celebrities were exposed by users of online forums like Reddit in 2014, in what came to be called “The Fappening” to the virtual world. Some featured the celebrities in scandalous, unsavory or sexual positions.
Collins did not plead guilty to posting the images on the Internet, according to Ars Technica.
“From November 2012 until the beginning of September 2014, Collins engaged in a sophisticated phishing scheme to obtain usernames and passwords for his victims,” a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Pennsylvania reads. “He sent e-mails to victims that appeared to be from Apple or Google and asked victims to provide their usernames and passwords.”
“Phishing” is when hackers and fraudsters send links via electronic communication that are disguised as genuine or legitimate, but are actually ploys to garner personal data.
It is not so surprising that tons of celebrities were duped, since a study by German researchers showed that roughly half of people click on infected links even after knowing risks.
Cybercriminals have been using phishing scams to trick Twitter users into giving up their banking information by acting as a financial institution’s customer support staff.
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