This is just sick!
Deemed as “The Fappening” by Internet trolls, a second batch of nude celebrity photos have been leaked online on Saturday, only weeks after an earlier release of photos targeting nearly 100 stars led to a federal investigation.
The private photos were published on the online discussion board site 4chan and this time, the site’s administrators removed the photos as part of a new policy implemented following the initial leaks. However, the photos had been widely re-circulated on other platforms such as Reddit by then.
This time, celebrities like Jennifer Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Rihanna, Avril Lavigne, Aubrey Plaza, Mary-Kate Olsen, Hayden Panettiere, Leelee Sobieski and Hope Solo were among those affected. It also seems as if reality TV star Kim Kardashian was targeted even more this time round.
The previous batch of nudes of celebrities were released on September 1, after hackers snatched them from Apple’s iCloud.
The FBI had been investigating earlier hacks, which Apple described as “a very targeted attack” on individual accounts that did not point out that the security of its iCloud system had been compromised.
Aside from that, the company also suggested that the celebrities had their accounts hacked by using easily guessed passwords, or by giving up their personal data to cyber criminals posing as Apple, a technique known as “phishing”.
More to come!