It is 2017, but it’s still happening. The latest victims of this campaign include top celebrities, Amanda Seyfried, Emma Watson, Rhona Mitra, Alyssa Arce, Jillian Murray, Analeigh Tipton, Iliza Shlesinger and others.
The leaked pictures and or videos were leaked yesterday on a celebrity gossip website “Celeb Jihad” ranging from nude selfies, explicitly sexual photos of intimate moments. The Internet is relating the hack with the one that took place in 2014 iCloud hacking in which top Hollywood celebrities had their nude images and videos leaked on the Internet.
More: iCloud Glitch? Woman buys iPhone, finds contact details of top celebs
When it comes to the recent leak, these pictures have already made their way to 4chan threads where some are claiming to leak more celebrities photo in coming days while Emma Watson and Amanda Seyfried have threatened a legal action against the “privacy breach.”
Even worse than seeing women's privacy violated on social media is reading the accompanying comments that show such a lack of empathy.
— Emma Watson (@EmmaWatson) September 1, 2014
Emma Watson’s representative has acknowledged that some of her photos have indeed been leaked online and are legitimate. “Photos from clothes fitting Emma had with a stylist a couple of years ago have been stolen. They are not nude photographs. Lawyers have been instructed, and we are not commenting further.”
Some of the leaked pictures show a woman taking Watson’s pictures from an iPhone while she’s posing in front of a mirror in a swimsuit and other outfits. Several other photos are showing a nude woman in a bathtub however it is unclear if they have been photoshopped or real since the face of the woman has been cropped.
Amanda Seyfried
When it comes to Amanda Seyfried, the images are much explicit and appear to show the actress during sexual activities with her ex-boyfriend. Some of the pictures show Seyfried nude in a bathtub and inside a clothing shop while trying a yellow outfit. Although posting private pictures of people without their permission is a crime; things are bad for Seyfried since she is expecting her child her with current partner Thomas Sadoski. Seyfried is also taking legal action (pdf) against the privacy breach.
According to the letter (PDF) seen by TMZ, Seyfried’s legal team wants the images deleted immediately.
“As you acknowledge on your website, these photographs are believed to have been leaked, i.e., wrongfully obtained by a third party or parties without Ms. Seyfried’s knowledge or consent. Your unauthorized use and distribution of the Seyfried Photographs constitutes, at a minimum, copyright infringement, violation of Ms. Seyfried’s right of privacy under applicable law, and tortious conduct under state and common law.”
In the case of Rhona Mitra, Alyssa Arce, Jillian Murray and Analeigh Tipton videos of these actress engaging in sexual activities have been leaked online.
It has been three years since the original “first” leak took place exposing vulnerabilities in Apple’s iCloud feature by gaining access and stealing private pictures and videos from iCloud and Gmail accounts. However, it is unclear exactly how the new hack took place since most of the culprits behind the first event have been arrested.
The new series also looks damaging for celebrities, and their private life, especially after the pictures, have been spread all over the Internet platforms like 4chen and Reddit where it’s hard to remove user driven content.
In 2014, famous celebrities had their nude photos and videos leaked on the Internet including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Abigail Spencer, Alison Brie, Ariana Grande, Ashley Green, Aubrey Plaza, Avril Lavigne, Becca Tobin, Brie Larson, Christina Hendricks, Dwayne Wade, Emily Ratajkowski, Gabrielle Union, Hayden Panettiere, Hope Solo, Jennette Mccurdy, Jenny Mccarthy, Justin Verlander, Kaley Cuoco, Kat Dennings, Kate Bosworth, Kim Kardashian, Kirsten Dunst, Krysten Ritter, Lea Michele, Leelee Sobieski, Mary-Kate Olsen, Mckayla Maroney, Meagan Good, Rihanna, Scarlett Johansson, Teresa Palmer, Teyana Taylor Vanessa Hudgens, Victoria Justice and Yvonne Strahovski.
The story is developing, so there’s more to come however everyone has right to keep their private pictures and videos on their phones but also remember that hackers and cybercriminals are always looking for your data so watch out what you keep on your phone and what is being saved on iCloud and other similar services.
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