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| Kate Upton was one of several female celebrities whose nude photos were leaked onto social media by a hacker this past weekend. Image: Helga Esteb / Shutterstock.com |
Last Sunday saw the release of more than sixty nude and risqué photos of
female celebrities onto social media—quite possibly the largest such privacy
breach in history.
First seen on a 4chan thread, it is thought that one hacker stole the
photos from a variety of sources, including hacking the celebrities’ own online
photo storage accounts. Though the
authorities have been notified, no suspects have been identified.
Victims included Kate Upton, Jennifer Lawrence, and Mary Elizabeth
Winstead.
"This is obviously
an outrageous violation of…Kate Upton's privacy," her lawyer said in a public statement. "We intend to pursue anyone
disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest
extent possible."
Lawrence’s spokesperson issued an equally firm statement: “This is a flagrant violation of
privacy. The authorities have been
contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos.”
In the past,
stealing and distributing such photos without permission has led to jail
sentences, as in 2012, when a man was sentenced to ten years in prison for
releasing private photos of Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis.
Despite this, the
photos have not been removed from 4chan.
The situation
brings up the larger issue of the lapse of technological savvy with regard to
storing information on the cloud.
Security researcher Ken Westin wrote
in his blog, “It is important for celebrities and the general public to
remember that images and data no longer just reside on the device that captured
it. Once images and other data are
uploaded to the cloud, it becomes much more difficult to control who has access
to it, even if we think it is private.”
However, the
invasion of privacy remains a major factor.
In response to the leak, writer/actress Lena Dunham posted on
Twitter: “The way in which you share
your body must be a CHOICE. Support
these women and do not look at these pictures.”
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