Dad jailed for hacking nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst and Kate Upton in infamous ‘Celebgate’ case
Ryan Collins, 36, from Pennsylvania, USA, hacked into more than 100 Google and Apple accounts to steal personal files
A MAN has been jailed for stealing nude photos of female celebs in the infamous ‘Celebgate’ hacking scandal.
Ryan Collins, 36, from Pennsylvania, USA, hacked into more than 100 Google and Apple accounts between November 2012 and September 2014.
The dad-of-two admitted stealing copies of private files – including nude photos and videos – that the account holders had stored online through their ‘cloud’ backups.
A range of explicit and deeply personal material subsequently ended up online – although prosecutors admitted there was no evidence Collins had leaked any of the files he had taken, the reported.
A judge heard how the hacker used a “phishing” scheme to gain access to the stars’ private accounts.
Victims received official-looking emails which appeared to have come from Apple or Google, asking them to confirm their log-in details.
He then used the information to get into 50 iCloud accounts and 72 Gmail accounts, the US Attorney’s office revealed.
Many of the accounts belonged to well-known female stars including Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst, Gabrielle Union, and Kate Upton.
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David Bowdich, assistant director of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, urged caution to web users when replying to online messages asking for personal details.
He said: “We continue to see both celebrities and victims from all walks of life suffer the consequences of this crime and strongly encourage users of internet-connected devices to strengthen passwords and to be sceptical when replying to emails asking for personal information.”
Police discovered Collins’ offences during a probe into the infamous 2014 ‘Celebgate’ scandal, in which dozens of nude videos and photos of well-known stars began appearing online.
Speaking to at the time, Lawrence branded the sharing of her photos on the web a “sex crime”.
She said: “Just because I’m a public figure, just because I’m an actress, does not mean that I asked for this.”
“It’s my body and it should be my choice, and the fact that it is not my choice is absolutely disgusting,” she added.
Collins had faced up to five years in prison for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
But after admitting guilt as part of a plea bargain he was sentenced to 18 months behind bars.
The hacker graduated James Madison University in 2003 with a degree in integrated science and technology.
He works as a creative project manager for eCommerce marketing company Listrak after previous jobs as an art director, webmaster and personal chef, according to his LinkedIn profile.
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