Apple Actively Investigating iCloud Link to Celebrity Photo Leak

After the massive photo leak that exposed nudepicturesof Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and dozens more, Apple said its looking into a vulnerability in its iCloud service that could have allowed hackers to obtain the images.

After the massive photo leak that exposed nude pictures of Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and dozens more, Apple said it’s looking into a vulnerability in its iCloud service that could have allowed hackers to obtain the images.

Reports suggested the hackers, who haven’t been identified, gained access to the photos by breaking into the women’s iCloud accounts. Lawrence can be seen using an Apple iPhone in several of the pictures.

In a new statement, Apple said it already fixed a bug in its “Find My iPhone” app that may have caused vulnerability.

“We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report,” Nat Kerris, a company spokesperson told Bloomberg in a statement.

The iCloud service allows users to store their information in a virtual database. Information that can be saved in the iCloud includes contacts, personal messages and photos.

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Hackers first posted the images on image-sharing site 4chan, and they subsequently went viral. The leak targeted more than 100 high-profile female celebrities — though it’s unclear how many of the images are real. Some, like Victoria Justice, denied that the photos were real.

A rep for Lawrence confirmed that the images are of the Oscar-winner, but sent a warning to the hackers and slammed them for a “flagrant violation of privacy.”

“The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence,” said her rep in a statement.

Others who allegedly had photos leaked include Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, Kirsten Dunst and Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Winstead tweeted that she had deleted the images that leaked of her long ago.

https://twitter.com/M_E_Winstead/status/506198161811992576

Dunst took a direct shot at the iCloud to blame the service for the leak, tweeting Monday about the situation.

Thank you iCloud🍕💩

— Kirsten Dunst (@kirstendunst) September 1, 2014

If caught, the hackers could possibly face major jail time. Christopher Cheney was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for leaking nude photos and personal information of such celebrities as Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis and Christina Aguilera.

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