After Sunday evening’s massive photo leak involving many celebrities’ (alleged) private photos, the internet pretty much lost it. Everyone’s yelling at each other from different sides of the room. These photos were intended to be private and were taken by or for significant others. There’s nothing wrong with private selfies, and these women should not be shamed. They are victims, just as male celebrities would be if it happened to them. (I am in no way advocating for men to be hacked, just pointing out that only female celebrities have been victimized in this case.)
There are many updates to yesterday’s post. Let’s do bullet points:
* As discussed already, Jennifer Lawrence’s rep says JLaw has already contacted authorities. Kate Upton is following suit. Upton’s rep told Us that the published photos are “an outrageous violation” of Kate’s privacy. TMZ heard from an FBI spokesperson, who says the agency is “aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals, and is addressing the matter.”
* The original hacking story from Buzzfeed said the hackers exploited an iCloud vulnerability. Kirsten Dunst is fully on board with this theory:
Thank you iCloud🍕💩
— Kirsten Dunst (@kirstendunst) September 1, 2014
* HuffPo reports that Apple has rushed out a fix for a possible leak source. A bug called “ibrute” allowed hackers to exploit a weakness in the “Find My iPhone” app. The main problem was that the app didn’t require “brute force protection.” Anyone could enter an infinite number of password attempts and never be locked out of an account. Apple tells the Mail there’s still no guarantee yet that iCloud is completely safe, but “We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report.”
* Jennifer Lawrence previously admitted to MTV that iCloud’s backup methods are confusing: “My iCloud keeps telling me to back it up, and I’m like, I don’t know how to back you up. Do it yourself.” Note: JLaw is in no way to blame for her photos leaking. I’m loyal to Apple’s devices, but iCloud is a mess. The settings are jacked, stuff disappears and reappears on its own. That sh-t is confusing. Whether or not JLaw backed up her stuff to iCloud on purpose, she and the other celebs had an expectation of privacy.
* The hacker may not have worked alone. There’s said to be a collective of hackers who pursued this disgusting project for years. Mary Elizabeth Winstead’s tweets indicated that her leaked photos were taken years ago and deleted. Business Insider discusses the “group of enterprising hackers pooling their resources to try and earn the biggest reward.” These dudes solicited Bitcoin donations. The transaction records show they earned $120 total. Other reports say the hackers tried to sell the photos on the internet black market. I guess that didn’t work either.
* The Mail discusses the “original guy” who has been fingered by various posters. This dude posted screenshots that gave away his unique file structure, which led to people figuring out his identity. The guy bragged, “We appreciate your donations and applaud your excitement. I will soon be moving to another location from which I will continue to post.” Buzzfeed has a new interview with this douche, who says he’s not a hacker. He only wanted to con people into sending him Bitcoins. Now he’s driving around, hasn’t slept in 40+ hours, and can’t find an open law office. I don’t know.
* Many celebrities have opinions on this mess. Lena Dunham, coming right at ya.
Seriously, do not forget that the person who stole these pictures and leaked them is not a hacker: they're a sex offender.
— Lena Dunham (@lenadunham) September 1, 2014
Emma Watson spoke up too. She is just awesome.
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 (@EmWatson) September 1, 2014
Ricky Gervais tweeted and deleted various jokes on this topic (“Celebrities, make it harder for hackers to get nude pics of you from your computer by not putting nude pics of yourself on your computer“). Gervais eventually decided to assert his right to make tasteless jokes.
Make jokes, not war.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) September 1, 2014
Ugh, Ricky Gervais. Yes, he has the right to make jokes, and we have the right to call him out for it. Thank goodness for Emma Watson.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN
I’m not even going to offer what I was thinking and instead point out Deadspin posted an article a few hours ago saying they knew about this a long time ago. It’s a good read. http://deadspin.com/this-guy-was-sharing-the-hacked-celeb-nudes-weeks-befor-1629384848
So people knew about this before and I guess nobody tried to stop it by reporting it before the pictures were released? That’s even more disgusting.
That is the sad, sad part. And to clarify, by “good read” I mean, “offers more information not seen other places”, whoops.
That is sad. You’d think they’d contact the FBI or Apple or someone to put a stop to it. No decency.
yeah people knew about this weeks ago but I dont think anyone took it seriously. for the past few weeks people were saying there were JLaw and Selena nudes (and the Selena ones were uploaded) but people didn’t think it was possible..
it should be added that McKayla’s pics were supposedly taken before she was 18.. so now there’s a possibility of even more charges!
I know this might not be the point. But why are all these people taking naked pics? This is not the first time hackers have gotten naked pics.
I guess if you want to take some nudies maybe delete them?
Deleting them doesn’t help, supposedly depending on your settings I Cloud saves the deletes. At least that is what Mary Elizabeth Winstead shared on her twitter about her photos.
I should feel more sympathetic but I really don’t. Realistically if you are taking naked pictures you need to except the fact that they may be seen by others whether you want them to or not.
@diva
The situation for me is not morally different than someone walking up to you on the street and ripping your clothes off.
And then a bunch of people saying “You shouldn’t have been nude under there.”
People have a right to privacy, even celebrities.
Genevieve, there’re is a tremendous difference between actual assault and theft of personal property, please don’t pretend they’re the same.
Hey Bob, you’re incorrect.
Assault has a broad definition and is not limited to physical assault. A strong verbal attack is consistent with assault also (look in the dictionary). From google: an act, criminal or tortious, that threatens physical harm to a person, whether or not actual harm is done.
You could say that this scandal puts Jennifer et al at risk of physical harm. Like many celebs, it’s reasonable to believe that they have stalkers, who may be inspired to act by this and there are many people in the world who would actually blame the girls for this, even though it was an act done to them. I think it is reasonable to believe that they have been placed in harms way.
Apparently everything you take is uploaded to icloud. Deleted pics are stored there. No guarantee that these were still on their phones and a lot of people aren’t familiar with how Apple and icloud operate.
Also consider trying to keep a long distance relationship intimate. I’ve been in that situation. Yes we used technology to stay close, including a couple dirty pics.
Luckily nobody wants to see mine
That’s the point of iCloud. You’re yelling about it but you’re obviously missing the point or simply don’t know how simple computer backup works. In fact iCloud was set up for people like you who can’t seem to work a simple computer. It’s there to do it for you.
For people that have important documents, photos, videos, etc., not of them taking their kit out, iCloud is there as a backup. For instance you break your phone, you lose it, you accidentally delete something, iCloud is there to make sure you have access to it no matter what. Same for Dropbox. I have mine continuously set on backup every 24 hours because sometime in my haste I delete things and then think “bugger I shouldn’t have done that!”. Or my phone stops working and I’ve lost everything on it. And then I’m glad it’s backed up and I can retrieve it. And I’m glad they backup on their own because I’m not going to remember to do it every month, much less everyday. They take care of that for me. Heaven forbid something ever happens to my iPad, I know that that stupid little imaginary cloud has my back. If I ever need to sync my info to a new device, the cloud can do it for me,
Don’t get mad at the cloud because you can’t figure out how to work a simple backup drive. For those of us that use it to store important files, not our nudes, it’s a great service. If you’re cloud or Dropbox is hooked up and you want something deleted permanently then you have to delete it from your backup as well. Duh.
People yelling at the cloud like they’ve never used a damn computer before. It’s not rocket science.
And FYI while Apple screwed up by having a flaw in their security, people need to calm down and stop calling for their head. The whole point of a good hacker is the ability to find the flaws in any design. Apple techs might have thought they created Fort Knox but not all of them can guess the future. Someone, somewhere will always be able to crack the code. Be smarter about what you keep online.
I will have to disagree with you @iseepinkelefants
Those are all very interesting arguments but these are services that are automatically installed in your device or that don’t explicitly explain/reveal their basic configuration when you install them, and that’s the problem here. A device that is bought by all kind of people, with more or less knowledge on technology (or interest in knowing), shouldn’t come with services that are not user friendly or are pre-configured against their privacy. That happens with a lot of services, apps, social networks. Furthermore, a lot of these keep changing your configurations everytime they update so that you have to be really attentive and know very well how to do it if you want to keep your privacy protected. This makes absolutely no sense. iCloud (as the example in this case) shouldn’t be automatically configured to keep a backup of your stuff. That’s something you should have to conscientiously do and choose, so to prevent that a lot of people don’t even know that there is a backup. That is a non-sense. I agree that people should get better informed about Internet and technology if they want to use it, but we know that doesn’t happen. Plus, there is a very aggressive business that tries to take as much information from you as they can and that is wrong and needs to change. I don’t keep any photos online, but I do keep other confidential files (as I’m sure many do, and you probably too if you backup work related files). I wouldn’t be happy if a hacker would get access to them either. Yes, be smarter about what you keep online but there needs to be an effort to make Internet/common technology safer, easier, and law-abiding.
Apple is at the top of the heap (like Toyota) so when there’s a problem, the response is really loud. Other companies have software problems, car manufacturers have recalls, etc. but you don’t get the volume on the public response.
I don’t see Audrey “yelling” here, just explaining how the cloud works.
@Minime–exactly. The default setting on a lot of these services is an invasion of privacy. I do know how to operate a computer and an ipad and my husband’s droid phone with reasonable efficiency and I still don’t understand iCloud’s set-up or how to fully delete stuff. Apple product are intuitive which is why I like them but finding actual directions or a user manual is nearly impossible. For that reason, I DO hold Apple accountable to a certain extent. If you set up the default to invade privacy, then you are responsible for protecting that privacy. It’s important to remember that these women did NOTHING wrong. They are victims of theft. Would you blame someone if their banking information was stolen? Their credit card number? Because those things are automatically stored offsite too, often without your awareness and they get hacked. When it happens, we blame the hacker and the bank, not the victim.
Considering how much Apple overcharges for their products, people have a right to ask for their heads. It may be a whoops for Apple, but a tragedy for victims, and who whows what other data they stole?
Vanity.
Many of them are in long distance relationships. It is really not fair to say it is vanity when ordinary people do this too. Don’t victim blame.
Sexuality is sacred, as are many aspects of a person’s life. Would you put your safe deposit box number and the location of your key on some online storage? A third party has to intervene in these technologies. While I agree there is a “leak” and an invasion of privacy, it’s101 to avoid the trend of sending nude photos or to post them on a computer. We have the right to be sexual or save money, but why not be extremely cautious about parts of our live that require security.
I think it’s a common thing in long distance relationships, not always vanity.
And even as far as celebs who appear naked in movies, the BIG difference is that these pictures were meant for someone special and their private moments, the world wasn’t supposed to see them.
Uh, no. Having a sexual relationship in which your significant other likes seeing naked pictures of you. I’m sorry if you’ve never experienced that.
@EmilyC
I am actually sorry for you, sorry…. Because from your post you really seem dismissive of any other kind of sexuality apart from yours. That is very narrowminded. To be honest, I prefer naked bodies in person, I wouldn’t have done anything with a picture of my husband’s naughty bits whilst I was abroad. That is my sexuality and it is not wrong because it is private and my own.
And before you reply ‘oh my God, prude and backwards’, I would invite you not to paint anyone else’s sexuality with the same brush. There is no right or wrong sexuality. To each his own.
Once you delete them, as many people did, hackers can still gain access to them.
Also, taking naked pictures when you’re as busy as many of these people are is an expression of a long distance relationship. And it doesn’t matter what you think, they were private property.
+1 I hear you. I know it’s an invasion of privacy but it’s 2014 if they can hack into a govt office/ banks etc. with ease just the average person without the IT skills don’t stand a chance. These crazy people sit there alllllllllllllll day and do this nonsense. They do it just because they can, one guy said in the paper today you need a really difficult password OR if you don’t just don’t take any photos and if you do, make sure your face/and any identifying marks are well out of the frame.
I’ve taken topless pics to send to my husband when he was traveling — we’ve been together 25 years, married 17. And I have an iPhone, with iCloud backup turned on automatically, and it sounds like even if I delete the photos from my phone (which I do, because I don’t want my kids stumbling on them), maybe they’re backed up to iCloud anyway. And I don’t think the problem is that I’ve sent those photos — I think the problem is that Apple doesn’t protect my privacy!
To me, this is not about Apple or iCloud. People hack into government stuff that has crazy firewalls…if someone wants to take the time/energy to hack something, they will. The problem for me is WHY do they want to…and look at how crazy the Internet has gone?! I REFUSE to look at them, but if everyone did that…maybe they would quit hacking because nobody cared. 🙁 It’s a HUGE privacy violation and I feel for these women. The female body is a beautiful thing, and if one WANTS to share it with the world, go ahead. BUT if you don’t want to share it with the world you should NOT be forced to. The person who leaked these photos is a sexual predator! Sick in the head! I’m done.
AMEN @LoveLee85
I have to agree. What is it with people taking nude photos? I don’t get the impulse. It’s pretty foolish to think they will never leak. And I’m not blaming the ‘victims’ but I do think they have to hold a portion of the blame for being so naive.
“I’m not blaming the ‘victims’ but I do think they have to hold a portion of the blame for being so naive.”
You just blamed the victims.
@Gia
Guess what? I had a concern about a strange rash ring that appeared around the side of my breast which wouldn’t go away. I took pictures on my phone and sent them to my doctor. Showed her the pictures again at the appoint as the pattern was shifting. Got treated and deleted the pictures. Now I’m hearing the might still be on iCloud. It’s private pictures intended for only my doctor’s eyes. Yes I would feel violated if some fool hacked into my iCloud or phone and released those pics to the world.
Me and these actresses have the right to privacy. Their pictures too were not meant for public consumption. None of us knew that iCloud had this vulnerability. Thanks Apple. Blaming the actresses is like blaming someone with stuff in their house who got broken into.
Cleopatra…..I really don’t think Gia is blaming the victim. I think what she is saying is DO NOT TAKE NAKED pictures on digital devices that have internet access. Don’t do it…because there is ALWAYS the potential for it to be hacked,whether it is Apple,Microsoft or Google. There will always be hackers from all parts of the world who treat hacking like a game as well as a business. Changing this debate to a privacy debate is meaningless. If you place sensitive information on a digital device with web access you have essentially given up your privacy because hackers could care less about a person’s privacy,they will continue to hack.
We can strengthen US laws but a hacker in Russia or China could care less about US law.
@ Steph
How about strengthening laws around the world.
Let’s frame the issue like this:
There are lots of child predators out there, and just like nude photos, photos of people’s children are all in the cloud, waiting for hackers to steal them and give them to people who harm children. Many digital photos contain geotags which infuse latitude/longitude information into the photo. This means that not only can hackers SEE your children, they also know WHERE you children are (think about this if taking a photo at your child’s daycare, school, etc.).
Should we focus on the stupidity of parents who don’t delete all of the digital pictures of their children?
Or, should we focus on the CRIME of invading people private information and selling and distributing that information? Even if you think that nude photos won’t affect you personally, eventually, hacking will hurt us all.
I should be sensitive and say crime is NEVER okay under any circumstance, but ever since the epidemic of the rape drug in clubs, I stopped ordering open mixed drinks, and quickly quit the disco culture altogether. It’s just not safe to partake of certain behaviors, and sending nude photos online is one of them, and this isn’t news. I’m no Utopian, and realize that crime is rampant in some situations and a sensible person simply must take precautions, and everyone knows sending racy pictures is inherently risky. I realize the hackers must be punished, just like car jackers, but what if the crime happened in a high risk area? Where do we draw the line when it comes to tempting the temptable?
Tiffany,
I completely agree with everything in your post. People are so unaware of all of the information that is attached to each photo and each piece of data they send and store on the web. Their privacy is constantly being marginalized and ignored in the digital age. I agree with another poster that it would be great to have other countries join the US in strict hacker laws,but I have a difficult time seeing Putin signing on to that effort.
The iPhone 6 is partnering with VISA and other banking cards to give you the ability to just tap your phone to pay for things……….talk about a total nightmare. All I can say to people is….Don’t sign up for this service!
Good points, Steph!
I think people are so focused on the “nude” part of this story, that they might be missing the bigger picture…that we are all vulnerable in ways that need to be addressed (regardless of whether or not we take nude selfies!).
@Tiffany
You have a point there, about children’s pictures. Unfortunately, try to explain that to their parents. I have no idea how many friends I warned that they should post as less pictures of their kids as possible on Facebook or twitter and I got laughed at. Well, child predators are waiting for that 24/7. Laws or no laws, if my child picture was stolen and a child predator had ‘done his business’ looking at it, there is no conviction that could wash that away, sorry.
I don’t have naked pics, but I’m glad I never set up my iCloud account. I get emails every so often telling me I have to, but screw it now!
You really don’t need an iCloud account to be hacked. If you have nude photos on your phone,and if a hacker targeted you,chances are a good hacker will be able to access them and download them. I think people will have a false sense of security if they believe that their nude photos on their phone are safe from hackers if they do not have the cloud set up. If they do not have the cloud set up,their photos could still be accessed by a skilled hacker.
In another post,I wrote about a case where a teen beauty queen just had her phone in the bathroom…with no nude photos,and a hacker was able to view her through the camera and download the images. The guy then went on and attempted to blackmail her,she called the authorities and it turned out to be some nerdy kid that had a crush on her in high school. This was in the news about a year ago. Bottom line beware of all devices that have cameras and web,data connections.
Why they took naked pictures is beyond the point. People have their reasons for doing so and it doesn’t matter. You, me and tons of people may not be into it, but plenty of people are and that is their business. Many of the people that had their accounts hacked had previously deleted the pictures from whatever device they used to take them, but i believe a lot of things (pictures, contacts etc) get automatically synced to the iCloud, so you have to go into it and make sure it is deleted from their as well. Also the hacker(s) manipulated a vulnerability if that wasn’t their the pictures would not have been seen.
Honestly, take all the nude pictures you like but please don’t be surprised that the digital device your using does not protect you from exploitation. I am not a prude, I am indifferent to whether or not people want to take nude photos of themselves, but you have to be extremely naive if you think these are private because they’re on your phone. Much like a house, if someone wants in, they’re getting in, all it takes is a brick and a window.
@Bob
Exactly. The service that has been used for that doesn’t protect anyone from exploitation.
When Vanessa Hudgens had her phone hacked and nudes were reliesed, no one believed her and people said she did it herself. At least this time people show more empathy.
Apparently the only thing that will delete forever is a word doc, excel spreadsheet, or my music.
Yep…..the thing is, deleting stuff off your cloud may not delete it forever, either. Nothing is ever gone forever, necessarily, just because you deleted it and the backup.
yeah the apple store cant find my soundtrack to joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat when they are on my actual laptop but people can make someone’s cloud rain in another country.
thanks apple
Actually- even deleted files on a computer can be retrieved at least partially. Deleting just tells the computer that the space is now available for re-use. I used to recover deleted files long ago using a recovery program. Sometimes the whole file would be found, more often large or small chunks of it (computers save files in pieces in different locations when enough contiguous space is not available). It’s generally recommended that you overwrite deleted files (using an appropriate program) with random 1s and 0s multiple times. Even so, an expert may be able to recover some useful information. Don’t know about newer systems, but in the olden days I heard FBI experts could recover file bits even after they had been overwritten twenty times…
It’s like locking your door. Won’t keep out a determined and expert thief, but will discourage the casual ones. So using good passwords and taking other precautions on your phone or computer will only protect you from the more casual thieves in realspace and cyberspace. Once you are connected to the net, you are potential prey for the experts (including governments).
The real question should be why are they loading nude photos to the internet and leaving them vulnerable to exploitation?
Everyone needs to familiarize themselves with the proper use of their credentials, passwords and settings.
Apple’s Find My IPHONE feature is a huge security flaw, but the hacker(s) were able to successfully guess the passwords of approximately 100 celebrity accounts.
The hackers were able to gain access because they program bugs that do nothing but try password combinations until it lands on the right one. Because Apple didn’t/doesn’t require “brute force protection”, there is no limit to how many false passwords a user can enter (most online services shut you down after 3-4 failed attempts to log in), so the hackers can just leave those bugs running 24/7 for however long it takes to strike the right combination.
It’s not as easy as saying “everyone should know how their phones work”. Even if someone had absolutely perfectly enabled/understood their iPhone security, it’s possible for them to be taken advantage of in this leak. The real problem is that Apple has lax security standards/virtually no privacy policy. My reaction to this whole mess has been “this is exactly why I don’t use an iPhone”.
Apparently no one has learned anything from the Rupert Murdoch phone hacking scandal, or the eBay and Target hacks. People, your computers are on a network, your phones are on a network. Everything can, and eventually probably will, be hacked. Don’t take photos that you don’t want your grandmother to see. And if your “long distance relationship” is so tenuous that you need to send photos of your naughty bits, perhaps you need to rethink that relationship.
Exactly…..
I think that is a little limited to just say “don’t take nude photos”, because there is a lot of information other than nude photos that is vulnerable. As I mentioned above, most digital photos contain geotracking information that shows the exact information about where in the world the photos was taken (latitude/longitude/time of day, etc.). A person’s harmless photo of their child could be hacked and given to a predator, who can use the photo and geographical information to find the child.
This was a serious breach of privacy, and it shouldn’t be minimized simply because the focus was on nude photos of celebrities. The same tactics can be used to hurt a lot of “normal” folks in very serious ways.
Sex is an important part of most romantic relationships. That does not make them “tenuous”, and it does not make people who are sending pictures to their s.o.s somehow desperate. People in relationships like turning each other on. It’s a huge deal. It’s not out of something being “tenuous” or somehow forced.
If you’re so judgmental that you think there’s something wrong with consenting adults having fun sexually, it’s you with the problem, not the consenting adults.
@EmilyC
It’s not a huge deal for all the couples, sorry. I had a few of these long distances relationships in my life and never sent anything through whatsapp or instagram.
@kcarp
That’s not the point. The point is that we so rely on technology that we want it to be safe and private, no matter what.
It will never be
Even though those pics were sent by email, they wouldn’t technically be safe.
I made the mistake myself, for a challenge, a few years ago. I posted a pic of my naked butt on twitter. I deleted it after two days. After three years (and how embarassing because I was already married then) a few twitter accounts were hacked and a couple of my followers complained to me ‘why did you tweet a picture of your butt to us? That is disgusting…’
Facebook, Twitter, instagram or whatever else will never be safe.
For instance, I cut Icloud off my Ipad, same for dropbox. I do a backup of the Ipad through my laptop continuosly and I never store anything important online 😉
And I guess if you don’t want to be robbed, don’t keep nice stuff in your house.
And if you don’t want your credit card cloned, don’t use it at an ATM.
And if you don’t want your bank details to be fraudulently used, don’t shop online. You might get hacked. Anyone here shop online? Yeah. We live online these days.
No offence but I am so sick of the “they shouldn’t have taken nude pix” argument. It lets these scumbag hacker pricks off the hook for the thieving bastards that they are and I’m so pleased Celebitchy as a site is sticking up for these womens’ rights.
No one is saying don’t take the pictures, everyone is saying don’t be foolish enough to think there aren’t hackers working 24/7 to crack into your digital life. Take all the pictures you want.
That is a silly argument, Londerland.
Nobody said don’t take pictures, but backing them up through Icloud (with consent or no consent) doesn’t seem intelligent, sorry. And yes you can keep nice stuff in the house and you get robbed. That is what contents insurance is for. The credit card I use online has nothing on it all the time, just little amounts of money, as my bank account that is connected with that.
Yeah, i can’t get worked up about this. Don’t take nudes. Nothing to hack.
Do you really think that nude photos are the only thing that hackers would find valuable?
Not taking the pictures in the first place seems like the best option. Also, if you must, why not use a camera with it’s own memory card, rather than put them on a computer or in the cloud. I have sympathy for the victims of these crimes but, we are all savvy and jaded enough to know that there are hackers, stalkers and creeps everywhere trying to exploit us. They find cameras in toilets and changing rooms, these things happen all the time, creepy guys are everywhere. You don’t have to be famous to be vulnerable to this stuff. Use common sense.
Way to victim -blame. That sure didn’t take long.
I dislike Lena Dunham a lot
But she gave a quote saying that everyone viewing the pictures is violating these women over and over.
I completely agree with that.
Also, screw Apple
Exactly. People shouldn’t get on their high horse and claim violation of privacy after they’ve looked at the pictures themselves. And don’t tell me it happened by accident.
Hackers wouldn’t do this if they didn’t know that people want to see these pictures. It’s a supply and demand issue, unfortunately.
I agree and that is exactly the reason why I don’t want to see the pictures. It’s just none of my business.
So many people would be outraged if someone hacked into their computer/phone but jump at the opportunity to get illegally obtained information about others/celebs.
I have to disagree with Lena on one thing though: The person who did this is a hacker AND a sex offender.
Exactly. I know those pics are out there, but I’m not going to go look for them or look at them!!!! I feel so bad for the people whose pictures were released.
I saw the most crude of the Jennifer Lawrence ones and felt bad about it all day. I still feel bad about it. No one should have to see that beyond the person it was meant for, and I mean no one. I feel so horrible at having seen that I would like to find a way to personally apologise to her, if it were even possible. Ugh.
Just a note, I didn’t know what I was looking at, or rather, I didn’t know the severity of it until I actually saw it.
I looked too and felt so bad after. My curiosity got the best of me. I don’t think I will ever do that again. Still love Jennifer Lawrence and hope she is doing okay with all of this, as with the rest of the ladies this happened to.
I haven’t looked but I heard on tumblr that now people are photoshopping her into beastiality photos and some really gross ones. And now people believe this is her too. The violation never ends
Same. When it all first came out, I clicked on a link and saw Teresa Palmer’s and a few of J.Law’s before clicking away, and I felt so, so gross about it. Because they were so clearly, clearly private and by looking I was violating them- it really did feel like that, by the way. I felt very clearly that I was violating those two women, and still feel really badly that I looked.
Teresa Palmer’s were clearly taken by her boyfriend while on a trip together, and you know what? I’ve been there. I’ve been on a romantic vacation with a boyfriend who snapped a few photos of me, nude, in the hot tub on our balcony. I didn’t think anything of it- the setting was gorgeous, we were in love, my naked body wasn’t private in that setting, and it was fun and flirty and sexy. If those photos were out now, and millions of people were viewing them and talking about them- I can’t even imagine.
This so much. If these ladies wanted me to look at their naked body, they’d pose for a magazine or something. But I have seen one of J.law’s but she wasn’t nude in the one I saw. She had a red bikini on. Even that made me feel guilty because that wasn’t for me to see. I don’t know how people just look at these pictures and feel perfectly fine with that.
I think that the overwhelming majority of people in the world will not be viewing these photos.
They’re either not interested or deliberately refrain from viewing because they realize that it would be wrong to do so.
Let’s hope you’re right about that. I refuse to look at the pictures too, but am not optimistic about the general public. A lot of people might be ashamed to look at the photos in public, but in the privacy of their own homes it’s another story, without even considering the disgusting irony of violating someone else’s right to privacy while invoking one’s own.
I will not look at the pictures. I will not be a party to a violation of someone’s privacy.
I won’t view them.
Agreed – she annoys me to no end, but she was 100% right on that.
Yep, she’s completely right about that.
This sh*t just gets worse and worse.
You know, after the first wave of “Don’t you know better? Don’t upload naked pics!” I thought people would realize just how awful this whole situation is not just for the women but for society as a whole. We really are failing young girls on a huge level.
But you’re right, it’s worse today because people are still making the argument that somehow, we cannot blame that hacker (I disagree with Lena D., he’s a hacker AND a sex offender AND a grade-A f*ckface) 100% for this crap. People don’t get it.
Also, I don’t get the iCloud either. I have NO clue how any of it works and my iTunes content constantly changes because sh*t disappears and then bam! it’s in the Cloud. Or not. Then I have to get an update. Last week I suddenly found stuff from my phone in iTunes. I have NEVER connected my iPhone to my laptop nor did I have any idea that this was possible without me knowing. I can’t with this technology.
I think you’re right that people are taking the focus off of the real perpetrator by saying that celebs shouldn’t take nude photos of themselves.
But I also think that people are correct in saying that in a world where information can be documented and shared with one push of a button, we should all live defensively and assume that nothing is private. I would never take nudie photos because of this very reason.
+1 okitt
I’m extremely paranoid with certain data and live by “once on the internet, always on the internet” so I understand what some (!) people are saying. I shop online etc. but I have for example also taken precautions with my bank account so that IF something gets hacked and/or stolen, I’m not going to end up broke or in debt. So I agree that we all need to be circumspect with out information. Photos on facebook? Nope. But then stuff from my phone ends up on my computer and I’m totally overwhelmed with all this technology.
But people have been conflating the two issues and then you end up yelling at each other without realizing that both are valid points. What gets me is that blasé attitude of “Oh well, they should’ve known better.” No. They weren’t careless. Nobody leaked anything. Photos were stolen. It honestly took me a while to get to the point where I realized that data and copyrighted material (I used to download all kinds of music and films for example) are no different from, say, a bike. Or a car. You have your car stolen and people will feel so very bad for you. Your house is broken into and everyone understands your horror. But people steal your music or your very very private pictures and everyone goes “Meh.”
Yes, put a lock on your door. Get some protection for your files and try to keep them safe. But there’s only so much you can do. If tomorrow my bank account gets hacked, people will be sympathetic because everybody knows it could be them next. Nobody will tell me to go back to an old school account, it’s the bank’s fault for not having better security and that creep’s fault for stealing from me.
What I’m saying is, I agree that both are valid points until you shift the blame.
I’m a bit shocked that actually today the comments seem even more offensive than yesterday.
I agree that people need to learn more about how the Internet works concerning your data privacy but this is not only an individual responsibility, it is a society responsibility and it is also on the part of the industry. I’m very careful with photos, I cover my camera lenses when I’m not using them, I try to read the privacy settings of everything (and I know that is not enough for 100% safety on privacy), still I know that a lot of people don’t do this or understand the need to do this. I don’t think they should be punished by their naiveté. I think it’s good to take the time to make people aware of the dangers that internet and internet connected devices pose to privacy, but I’m loathing the shaming that comes with it.
I don’t understand the need of the nude selfies but I understand that other ppl might like it, and even if I wouldn’t it is none of my business. Sad thing is that most of the people shaming these women because of the pics, are the ones that probably perpetuated these violation of privacy by searching and looking at those pics.
Disconnect the Icloud….
I know how you feel. I destroyed my mac hard drive and had to get the whole thing replaced. That was about 8 months ago. I lost everything from my computer. All of a sudden last week, I find photos I had taken from 2007 (of my now deceased dog) on my mac. This was way before I had cloud installed on the new drive. It boggles ones mind,…. at least mine, anyway… so, if those pix can be found, what about all the other stuff I lost???
I’ve read that it wasn’t only iCloud. The hacler(s) created a fake Hotspot at the Emmy awards and people connected- that’s how he got access to the phones.
Note: a lot of the women didnÄt attend the Emmys which means they weren’t taken from their phones but the people they’ve sent them to etc.
I don’t understand why people take nude pics of themselves. It seems like there’s always a risk of them falling into the wrong hands. If you don’t take them it can’t happen.
If you’re going to take them, keep your face out of the shot. The internet is forever.
This. I would never send someone pictures in which you can be identified easily. Especially not if I was famous.
It’s their right to do so and not be published, but I guess my main fear as a celebrity would be something like that. I feel so very sorry for these women.
I do too, Liv. This pics are out there forever. Imagine a few years down the road and some of these ladies have children. Can you imagine your child coming home from school and saying “Mom – your butt is all over the internet!”
Sorry, this isn’t the right sentiment. It’s a little too “don’t wear a short skirt and walk after dark” for my taste. Let’s focus on getting to sex offenders long prison terms and maybe finding a way that what a women does with her partner in private remains private.
I agree with you. It is really annoying me that every other comment is about why they took the pictures in the first place. Like that is the biggest issue in this whole mess. Not that they were grossly violated, but that they have the nerve to take sexy pictures of themselves or had them taken. People should be able to do that kind of thing without worrying about some creep hacking their account and finding what were supposed to be long deleted pictures.
Sex offenders is a little strong in my opinion. It’s a little too ” being hounded by the paparazzi is like being raped” for my taste.
This is awful and intrusive and a violation for sure, but it’s not a sexual violation, a sex act did not take place and one cannot be a sex offender without having been convicted of engaging in a sexual act like rape, sodomy, or sexual abuse of some kind.
Not to get too technical here but if someone is secretly taking photos or videotaping another person for sexual gratification, it’s a bit different than someone who knowingly takes nude pics and then has them effectively “stolen” and shared without their consent. Both scenarios are awful but the former is a more heinous offense IMO.
Anyway, I didn’t mean to detract from the overall sentiment here which I share wholeheartedly. This person is a creep and should face a severe punishment for violating the privacy of these women.
ita w original kitten that it is a terrible violation and if someone’s social security # or bank statement was stolen and used, there would be more sympathy
but the label sex crime, i am wondering how much it has to do with the likability of the celebrity. i dont remember anyone saying paris hilton or pam anderson were the victims of sex crimes.
that all said, if labeling him a sex criminal gets him a harsher sentence, i am all for it
I agree completely, Chris.
I’m also angry at people saying this is akin to rape. No it is not. It’s degrading and stupid to say that. You have no idea what real rape is, stop with the constant comparisons. It’s insulting to victims of actual rape.
No but it is a type of sex crime. Pretending that it is not a violation of a person is wrong. Hacking is general is a type of psychological attack. it is a power play to show another person that you can affect their life without being physically near them. Sex crimes are about power.
Rape is rape and that would not be a good comparison. However rape is far from the only sex crime. He’s a sex offender. The same as a voyeur/peeping tom, the flasher in the park, or the stalkers who “just watch you” in your private moments. This is not the paparazzi at Starbucks. These hackers are sex offenders, call it what it is.
100% agree. Nowhere even near rape. It’s really hacking and stealing of someone’s digital property. It is a shame that it’s embarrassing for the people affected and I do even think the fervor around the release is supportive of rape culture but since when did we start building laws around the shame someone feels regarding something embarrassing?
@Merritt @Mia4S
It is very offending saying that a violation of privacy and hacking is the same as sex crime, sorry. This coming from a rape survivor.
It dressed pictures of those actresses were stolen, it was a crime anyway. It was a violation of their privacy anyway.
And rape is a crime of violence, not sex. Sex crime as definition is used only by police or law, which should be reformed and updated given that many rapists are out of jail because a sex crime is less important than homicide or in some cases theft.
Why take naked pics? Because you want to send them to your significant other while you’re away from them. It’s fun and sexy, but yea gotta turn off the cloud and REALLY trust the other person.
But what if someone looks beautiful naked? Should they never ever record that fact, just because some criminal might come along and break into their files?
Time is a thief – eventually we all become old and saggy (if we are lucky!). Someday it might be nice to look back at those naked pictures and say to yourself, “Wow I really was beautiful!”
Not to objectify beautiful women, and obviously this is a different situation, but recently I was backcountry camping in Yosemite and I took hundreds of photographs – it was so beautiful there and I wanted to remember it in the future.
This whole argument of “well of course you should never ever take nude photos of yourself” kind of seems like an argument against beauty, and pleasure, and joy. It’s very puritanical and quite frankly not much fun.
“I don’t understand why consenting adults do X sexual thing because I don’t want to so they’re wrong for doing it” is always, ALWAYS a severely ignorant sentiment. You don’t want to do it, you don’t understand it, so what? What does that have to do with what other people choose to do?
Consent is what matters. These women did not consent to having their pictures shared. It is a massive violation, and a sexual one. And that you don’t get why they wanted to do whatever sexual thing in the first place does not matter one little tiny bit.
It’s about not getting why people would want to take the risk of producing something that could poetentially cause embarrasment or feelings of violation if they feel into the wrong hands. Should these photos be passed around without the person’s consent? No. Could they? Yes.
Lena Dunham and Emma Watson are absolutely 100% right. The FBI should be involved and I hope they catch the creep or creeps behind this. On Apple’s part, they need to explain how to use I Cloud better because I don’t understand it at all and therefore don’t use it. I am glad they are fixing the bug, but they need to make that air tight.
there is also something that you can access on the phone FTa it’s called I think, I don’t know I read it but it can inhance your security but Apple don’t really explain that part well but for $600 they should. Apparently you can find out from Apple Support.
It is NEVER going to be “air tight.” THAT is what people need to take away from this story. Technology just does not work that way – and whatever is developed as a fix for this will eventually be able to be exploited if enough people care to try to work on exploiting it. Just like you need to know the risks and responsibilities that come with, say, driving a car, you need to know the risks and responsibilities of using various electronic devices and storage systems. Of course, no one “must” do that, but guess what? It’s going to be THEIR propped-up asses splashed on the internet, not some developer dude’s from Apple or Samsung. People need to start using some common sense with a dash of caution, and stop blindly trusting in technology they clearly don’t understand. (Not directed at you specifically, mom2two, directed at ALL of us.)
i agree with this post. sums it up nicely.
the problem is people nowadays only use buzzwords to shut down discussions instead of using their brains.
if you say you need to be aware that your pictures will be stolen because it happens all the time it is not letting the hacker getting away with it or blaming the victim.
if you leave your laptop on the drivers seat and someone smashes the window and steals it: not your fault. but i would still advice you to not leave your laptop open like that.
you can hide behind “its not my fault” if you wish, but it would be a more healthy mind set to accept that there will always be criminals and you will need to take some precautions.
i wouldnt be to blame if i get robbed, but i still lock my door.
everyone can learn from this that it is very likely that your pictures will be stolen if you can access them online. its not if its when. thats what we all need to learn from this hacking.
never take nudes with your face on it. a hacker or angry ex are way too likely. in a relationship you will have enough pics with the face on it, so an additionally send body pic does the same without giving away your identity.
this obviously goes for all information. be very careful with banking details and such.
The FBI is involved. My Greek vacation got cut short so my fiance could report to work. 🙁
Leave it to Lena to insert herself into situations that don’t include her.
Oh, and that’s why I only take Polaroid nude pics.
Polaroid has a real marketing opportunity here! I was thinking the same thing…it’s the only safe way to take nude pics (I am crazy uptight and even I took a few b**b pics in my early 20s – pre-iPhone … Nice to see what they once looked like 🙂
And to use hyperbole while doing so. The hacker is a sex offender? The hacker is a lot of things, but sex offender isn’t one of them.
He hacked in, stole private sexual images and spread them on the internet
That’s violating these women and a sex offender to me
Well, it’s a traffic of nude pictures without consent. It is a sex crime. He has violated their intimacy, and made it available on every advices with a screen and a wi fi.
Yes @Melissa he’s a sex offender. Or if a man comes to your house tonight and stands outside your window and watches you undress while getting himself off would you say he’s not a sex offender? He will go to jail for hacking but he is a sex offender.
It’s an open question – at this point, it’s not really clear. If they hacked in and stole photos of these actresses who are under 18, which appears to be the case, then they are indeed sex offenders. That’s why the FBI’s now gotten involved.
That person would be considered a “peeping Tom” and if he was a repeat offender, a sentencing court would have to decide whether he’s a danger to the public, and the court would either order him to register as a sex offender or not.
I also will not be viewing the pictures, but I hope they slap this guy with the most serious charges they can level at him.
If that means he has to register as a “sex offender” then so be it.
@melissa
No, sex offender is not right, because it is a label attached to rapists and child abusers. And to be honest, that really feel like diminishing the entity of rape itself from the point of view of a rape survivor.
This crime does include her and all women because this crime was directed primarily at women. I have not viewed the pictures and I will not. My understanding is that the only men included were in pictures with the women. All the venom has been directed at the women. When nudes leak of men, you don’t see this reaction. It is brushed off as a joke. But women are called every vile name in the book.
Yeah right, women are still being victimised in 2014! Nothings changed.
The hacker(s) should be gelded, I think that’s a fitting punishment.
Kate’s photos are actually from her boyfriend’s (Justin Verlander) phone, which also leaked naked pics of a bunch of other girls he was seeing.
Nobody is talking about this. I hope she dumps that jerk. She could do better.
Any pics of her on Maks’ phone?? He’s a bigger jerk than Verlander.
The only pic I’ve seen from this was his bare bum (with her). I’m a sports fan and some troll posted it in the comments section of an article. Didn’t need to see that.
At least she might ditch him
Yep, Verlander was also a victim in this case, as they got photos and videos of him screwing KU and other random chicks. He had a few d*ck pics on there.
However, I don’t anticipate he will be with Upton much longer. Maybe those randoms were ex’s. Maybe not.
It is possible they were old. Mary Elizabeth Winstead tweeted that the pictures of her, were several years old. Kate and Justin broke up for several months in 2013. Who knows maybe he is a cheater maybe not.
Apple needs to fix this problem. Pronto. I don’t think anyone’s career should suffer from this. We need to move on.
To everyone asking why they took the pictures: Maybe they were in a long distance relationship. Maybe they wanted to. Maybe we shouldn’t bother with their personal relationships. Maybe we should allow them some privacy.
-Horrible invasion of privacy
-Any shaming of these victims of theft is asshattery of the finest order
-Shows how little we, as users, know about where and who has access to our stuff (both official and hackers). Seriously folks, EVERYTHING you do online including emails is stored on servers somewhere and has been for years and years. Deleting it does you no good, it stays on the server. This isn’t even iCloud specific.
-This could happen to anyone, the only difference is these are famous so our culture cares more.
-This time it’s naked pictures so the moral police are out saying “why do that, I’d never do that”, but next time it could be phone numbers, bank details etc. and not limited to celebrities.
^Yes! People have to realize that hacking is everywhere, and we are all subject to it.
Exactly this. While I do not now nor will I ever take naked pix, I have plenty of texts and emails (usually about my insane boss i hate) that I would prefer stayed private.
This is what has my mom in a tizzy. She called me and was like, “I’m sorry for those actresses, but *what if this happens to our banking information*?!”
Well she’s right. Anyone who has bought anything/booked anything/posted anything (because it'[s all linked back to an email etc) online is open to it, and not even that, hackers could break into bank servers and get information that way.
The whole way information is stored is effed up beyond belief. This just happens to be about private photos but would those who are saying that it’s pretty stupid to use anything other than a polaroid for this be saying the same if it was JLaw et al. bank details that had been splashed about as result of a hack.
Only those who truly live off the grid can sit on their high horse about this but even then I would hope they wouldn’t and show empathy to people who have been violated beyond belief no matter what the content.
I was shocked by the mere amount of nude photos each celebrity had. Who needs to take that many naked photos of themself? Another thing is that some of the photos and videos are obviously taken by someone else (a b/f, g/f, etc). Whose iCloud did they get them from, not just the naked celebrity but the person who took some of the naked pics/videos.
Finally, I don’t think that people realize that just because you deleted the pic from your phone doesn’t mean it gets deleted from the cloud. You have to delete in both places. So even though Mary Elizbeth deleted her phone photos years ago, it was probably still in the cloud.
Why does it matter?
Why does it matter how many pictures they took?
This sounds a little too much like “well if she didn’t want to get raped she shouldn’t have gotten drunk”.
I don’t think it matters when nude photos are leaked, how many there are. I think it’s a comment on the narcissism of celebrities and the selfie generation, in general. That has nothing to do with how awful the leak was, though.
and where exactly did I say it was ok that their privacy was violated because of the number of photos they took? Where? Please show me. How does that compute to your rape comment. You are reaching very far.
For one person to have so many nudes of themself is shocking to me. It’s like Kim Kardashian taking all those selfies. It’s narcissistic. I’m commenting on their narcissism, that’s it.
I said on yesterday’s thread that I was surprised that some people take so many pictures of themselves, nude or clothed. Maybe it is generational and 20 somethings like to document their lives, or maybe it’s because they are models/actresses. I’ve never enjoyed being photographed.
This is no different than people’s payment and personal info getting hacked when making online purchases. It really bothers me that somehow this has become a “moral” issue-eg, everyone saying why are you even taking nude photos. So by that token everyone should also stop making online purchases?!? It has nothing to do with morality. It’s private information stored on a device. Period.
With all this talk of the “cloud”, it just reminds me of the movie ‘Sex Tape’. And also, if such leaks were to happen to an everyday Jane would the FBI take part in it as well? Just curious…
They get involved any time nude photos of minors are posted online, the key is in the reporting. If a kid’s parents call their local field office and report their child’s photos were posted online the FBI will look into it as a potential sex crime case. They might not actually open an investigation, but they will work with local police and any relevant school authorities, if need be. A lot of the time, such cases are handled by the schools/local LEOs, but you can call the FBI about it. Ditto if they think the hackers were operating across state/international lines.
Nothing is ever black and white. People on both sides of the debate have made valid points. I can agree that this is criminal behavior, a violation of privacy, and that the hackers are sex offenders who belong in prison. I can also agree that it is very foolish for any celebrity to think that they aren’t easy prey to hackers and millions of pervs eagerly waiting for the next nude celeb photo hack and leak. While we should not blame the victims, everyone needs to have the common sense to know that evil people exist in this world and that bad things happen to innocent people. No amount of laws and security measures will protect any of us 100% of the time. We must all decide whether taking nude selfies is worth the risk or if the best prevention is not taking nude selfies with smartphones at all. Because this will happen again whether we like it or not.
Kibbles, I agree!
If I see another “they shouldn’t have taken the photos” comment on the internet, I will scream. A previous poster is RIGHT, it is exactly like saying, “If you wear revealing clothes, it’s your own fault you got raped”. No. It a violation. And Lena is right, it’s a sex crime. How is it different from revenge p#rn?
I feel like with the slow trickle of celebs being hacked in the past, people were able to blame the individual in a way that, while not right, gave them an excuse to not feel guilty. i.e. Blake Lively took a nude selfie – probably for a married man, so that’s ok to look at,…that’s what it felt like most people were saying. The mindset has to be different here. This is a massive attack, on so many women – no men. It is a form of assault and it is not acceptable, period, and what people want to photograph amongst consenting adults is their own business. The general internet response to me was what put it over the edge into a mass form of brutal invasion, of people re-tweeting pics of often very young women without a second thought. It’s devolved into something truly scary and not a nice reflection of how we behave online, and blaming the victim isn’t going to get us anywhere as human beings. I wish the FBI would prosecute all men who do this to non famous women alike, but maybe a high profile case like this will make some people think twice before commiting these crimes in future.
I also think living in the post-ScarJo-leak world makes a difference. She was the first to really, vehemently fight it, to take it to court, and to win against a hacker. She set a precedent legally, but she also exposed how violating this is to the public, she put it in terms of a crime. It wasn’t like Blake Lively or Vanessa Hudgens or anyone else who either tried to deny it or say they were fakes or sweep it under the rug. No matter how embarrassing/painful it was for her, ScarJo made it clear that a crime had been committed against her, and I believe some people began to understand that this isn’t about accidentally sending the wrong person a text or anything like that (which I think is how Lively tried to play it off), but that it’s about a crime being planned and executed.
@Algernon That’s what I don’t get. ScarJo’s hacker got 10 years of jail time and since FBI is involved this one will be likely to get 10 years maybe even more because of the number of women he had violated. How is it worth it? Go watch a porn or something.
I always wondered if Vanessa Hudgens was strongly encouraged by Disney to just apologize and make it go away ASAP and not pursue it further? HSM was a half billion plus dollar franchise at that point and she had a record contract with Disney’s Hollywood Records. Hers leaked at the height of her HSM fame. I think hers leaked only a month or two after her 18th birthday. And her nudes were allegedly like a year or two old when they leaked. Outside of her humiliating public apology she never really did anything about the pics.
You may be technically correct with your comment, but since we don’t live in a crime-free utopia in which the moral high ground will swoop in to save you, maybe it’s best to be over-cautious with anything you’re likely to be embarrassed by.
Do you lock your front door on your way out and put valuables out of sight in your car, or assume that because theft is wrong it won’t happen?
The lock comparison doesn’t work here. They all had passwords, the password is the lock. Locks don’t stop someone from breaking a window. Hacking is like breaking a window. Crime victims are not to blame for a criminal’s choice to break the law.
Agree with Meritt, we don’t know that they weren’t trying to be cautious, that one lady (who I never heard of) said her pics were deleted years ago. Apple needs to fix this, they essentially left the door unlocked to people’s private lives. The fact that so many were hacked is a pretty damning indictment on their system.
Who cares why they take photos, still it is an invasion of privacy! I feel sorry for these people and hope the ones who are responsible get nailed to the wall. Also “my friend” wants to know if android has this problem?
Probably, but android is second-fiddle to Apple in people’s hacking interests when it comes to mobile devices. Just like Apple is second-fiddle to Windows with regards to home computers.
I’d do some research either way!
Android does not back up to a Cloud unless you install the software too, or if you haven’t modified your software, if you have allowed the apps that came with the phone to do so.
Coming from IT, I say don’t back anything up to the Cloud, any Cloud belonging to anyone. This is putting your data in someone else’s hands and you lose all control over it.
I feel back for these people, celebs or not. Most people are clueless when it comes to the devices they own and this is an example of how others pray on that.
There was a comment earlier of the Internet is forever. It is and there are places that log the Internet, all of it. Just remember that the next time you post something anywhere, be it here or on what you think is an anonymous site. Also stop to think if you want someone like Apple in control of your information, even after you think you have deleted it. Deleting does not get rid of it. Even if these ladies had deleted their pictures from the iCloud, one should stop and think,” hmmmmm, data always gets backed up, that would therefore mean Apple probably backs this up too, right?” Yeah. Infinite backups of all your information, just in case one of their servers goes down. Convenience at it’s finest.
Exactly. There’s always a backup, of a backup, of a backup. What makes me angry is that this has been known for years (as people became increasingly worried about their information being lost, more of these tools were created). Once it’s out there it can never be deleted.
One of the most foul things I’ve seen in this (and there’s a lot of foulness) is the discussion, comparison, and objectification of these women.
“She looked hot but so-and-so has an ugly body.” “Why doesn’t she shave.” “I like unshaved” etc etc etc.
SHUT UP! You don’t have any right to view, post, masturbate to, or make judgements on these women. I’m so tired of the way women are disrespected in our society. I might need to step away from the internet for a minute.
Oh that’s one of my favourite horrors of these kinds of discussions. And when I say ‘favourite’ I mean the thing that just…makes me lose the ability to ‘can’. I JUST CAN’T!
This person has been violated in some way, but let’s focus on me and my preferences because that’s what’s important! I’m sad, lonely, in a lot of pain – I think making judgements about others and taking them down a peg or two, that’ll make me feel better.
But, isn’t that what we do here? I dunno – like, it’s somehow better to judge when that other person has willingly given of themselves for public consumption.
Gah!
*eyes roll out of my head, on the floor and out of the door*
Yeah I think it is different when celebrities put themselves out there to be photographed. I still don’t like some of the body comments but at least it’s usually most about the dress and styling.
In this case it’s just perpetuating the violation.
@Sarah – yeah, it’s like there’s a continuum of human depravity and hatefullness, and we should all try and keep it at the ‘softer’ end rather than the other end.
In an ideal world, we wouldn’t be shaming anyone and we wouldn’t be going around trying to second-guess the reasonings and motivations of people we don’t know. But we don’t live in that world, and perhaps that’s just a part of human nature.
Celeb culture, especially to the saturated extent it’s in our lives right now, seems to create this universal assumption that other people’s business is our ‘property’ and that any violation is OK because we all deserve it in some way.
Sorry, got about 2 hours sleep last night and I’ve gone all philosophical today!
I wholeheartedly agree. And I have this fantasy that part of the punishment for these ‘hackers’ will be to post nude photos of themselves for everyone in the world to see and comment on… too bad that’ll never happen.
These comments make me want to quit humanity. Combined all the other horrible things that have exploded in the last few weeks I’m just tired. But then if we are outraged we can continue to push back. Someone mentioned up on the thread that ScarJo fought back when this happened to her and I’m hoping more of these ladies do the same. It’s an invasion of privacy and we need to fight.
Here was a great article from yesterday:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/dont-like-jennifer-lawrence-girls-4145154
Well, objectification is the core of the issue all the way down, isn’t it? That’s why a man felt it was acceptable to hack into these phones and target women only. That’s why men on the internet had no problem proliferating the content despite the illegal and unethical source. That’s why they have no problem judging female bodies. That’s why it’s even a scandal in the first place because objecticely, who gives a shit? Why is female nudity or sexuality even an issue?
Because it’s never been about sex – not really. This is about power and control over female bodies. It’s about stripping their right to consent, turning them into objects for male consumption, undermining their sexual agency. It’s the ultimate way to pull one over on the unattainable prom queen. A beautiful, wealthy, successful woman is still a woman after all. Can’t have her thinking she could ever escape that.
Veronica: Best comment I’ve read on this whole mess.
Oh joy of joys reading all the pearl-clutching going on. Who cares why someone wants to take nude photos of themselves, what business is it of yours? These are private things: this is what the whole UK hacking scandal was about. People breaking into other people’s private personal things. It’s nudity because some people love to violate other people. If it were people’s bank accounts, online purchases, emails etc… there’d be a lot less of this “oh it’s their own fault”. It’s as if you’re yelling “I don’t understand how people can live their lives. If you don’t want to get personally violated, stop living life!!”
The internet is still so very young and there’s a lot to try and figure out when it comes to personal safety.
The hackers are having trouble selling the pics because the FBI is involved. Sites that have the pics are probably going to take them down or risk criminal prosecution (receiving stolen property and anything else the feds can come up with). I don’t doubt the site owners will cooperate with authorities and rat out the hackers to avoid fines and prison.
The ‘don’t take naked pics’ argument feels like a school insisting on teaching abstinence only sex ed…
If we just tell them not to do it, problem solved right? People are going to have sex, they’re going to make mistakes, they’re going to take pictures of themselves or their lovers. People are just going to do that. So accept it and let’s move on.
Focusing on the person who took the photo is not the issue at hand; it is that someone’s personal private property was stolen and shared worldwide. How would you feel if someone stole your diary and published it?
Yup – it’s teaching women not to be raped, rather than teaching men not to rape.
The comparison that comes to my mind is “Well, if you hadn’t bought that big screen TV, no one would have stolen it.” Does that mean I’m totally at fault because someone breaks into my home and stole it? That means the person who not only stole, but POSTED these photos isn’t a degenerate? Give me a break. People wanted to shame women for being hos, but reap the benefits of it. Plain and simple.
How funny it’s only women, if even old politicians have sent d-k pics. As if this isn’t sexist.
I agree that lots of people (far too many people, really) are naive about the internet and how no matter how quickly you delete it, a well-timed screenshot can make it last forever. My roommate’s friend has a teenage daughter who posts lots of selfies where she’s twerking, pouting, etc. She’s a beautiful girl (GIRL) and I imagine there’s lots of pressure to do these things, but I had to sadly explain to my roommate that “someone, somewhere, can and will masturbate to these photos.” Shudder.
With the skill of hackers nowadays it’s not safe to take naked pictures on any device. So I say Polaroid it, and then burn the b-tches when you’re done with them.
Sensible comment, bluemarie….
This sort of thing is why I don’t use a lot of internet products, especially Apple.
Sad situation but you’re FAMOUS, you should probably think twice before sending anyone or even taking nude pics of yourself. Even girls who aren’t famous, the second you snap and send a picture, anything can happen. I do feel bad because some of those shots were pretty crude but in a sense it’s like setting yourself up for it. I’ve had long distance relationships before but I rather Skype then send a naked picture of myself and wonder what can happen to it after.
That’s all very well, but what if hackers break into your computer and hack your skype account? Are you now at fault for thinking skype was safer? Wern’t you setting yourself up for it? Shouldn’t you have known better?
It’s worrying how much we focus on those who were wronged, rather than why people wronged them – where that’s the case people seem to be *shug* “Boys will be boys” which just perpetuates the problem.
It’s not about ‘boys will be boys’. It can happen to anyone. If it happened to the girl next door no one would give sh0t because she’s not famous and it’ll be thrown aside like it’s nothing. Why should people feel bad for celebrities when nothing is done for the common person? I’d take my repercussions if it happened because I did something that may have not been the safest. I wouldn’t cry victim because I knew what I was doing, just like these girls and I’m sure as hell the fbi would laugh in my face if I called it in. Everything is so easily accessible and vulnerable so to think your picture would never surface is naive.
@Dani
That is ludicrous. The FBI is going to investigate wide spread hacking. It doesn’t matter if we are talking nude pictures, medical records, or financial information. There is virtually no one in the developed world who is not at risk of being a hacking victim of some kind. But no one victim blames people whose medical or financial data gets stolen.
…This comment is absolutely hilarious.
I would NEVER store anything important on the Cloud or any other online storage option because anything can be hacked if the price is high enough.
Neither do I. I don’t even store mp3s in online storage services let alone private pictures.
Just FYI, all of your most personal intimate health data is going into the cloud, if it isn’t there already. You have no control over it.
Look up “Health Information Exchanges” on Google and prepare to be bummed out.
This is true. I was HORRIFED to find out my ob/gyn records could be accessed through a portal to a storage cloud.
Like I said, I would never store anything important online … whatever the damn government is screwing around with is beyond my control.
I am shocked at the ignorance of people’s knowledge of hacking,digital devices and internet technology. The first thing I told my daughters was that every photo,every message created and sent can ultimately be viewed or hacked,(unless you are Lois Lerner or the IRS). This is why I am shocked that people are surprised that this happened. It is WRONG,but it will happen. It is not only hackers in the US,but hackers in Russia,India and China. If you are a worldwide celebrity you will probably become a target,so these celebrities need to employ tech savvy security teams to protect their privacy.
There was even a case where a beauty queen had her phone on in her bathroom,and she was not taking pictures or videos and a hacker actually accessed her phone and was able to view her through the camera and download those images to his computer.
Everyone needs to be very cautious about devices with cameras that have web connections. This includes,computers,iPads,smart TVs.
The next thing people need to be aware of is Google Glass. A person wearing google glasses will essentially be automatically recording all images and voice data to a central server…..anything and everything they see…..and of course there is always the potential for those servers to be hacked.
People really need to get up to speed on this technology…I highly recommend a subscription to “Wired” magazine.
Yes!!
Word.
What shocks me most is that people seem to be unaware of all of this.
Incidentally, I don’t think people should be shamed for taking nude selfies but it’s best not to include any identifying features because nothing on any sort of network, whether phone or Internet, is truly secure. That’s just a fact of life.
I’m sorry, but when you’re famous taking THAT many naked pictures of yourself is a risk and you are probably aware that it is when you take them. I think they’re shocked but I don’t think they’re that shocked. How could they be? It seems like it is partially orchestrated almost when this happens to celebs. How dumb do you have to be to take naked pictures of yourself when you’re a top celebrity and you know that you’re a target because of a) your gender and b) your enormous status. It’s pretty silly to cry to the press after you take tons of pictures of your lady bits under these circumstances, IMO. I don’t feel very sorry for them, honestly. They expose themselves to this kind of intrusion by sending naked pictures of themselves on the internet. The internet is not really anonymous, I’m sure if someone wanted to, they could find every single comment I’ve ever left on CB and other gossip blogs, and I’m just a normal person and I am aware of this on some level. If you’re a celeb? You don’t really have an excuse, even though it’s a bit unfair.
…please stop.
It’s common knowledge the internet is NOT anonymous and it has been for quite awhile. Of course people make mistakes, and on some level, I’m sure it sucks to have your private pictures made public but to another extent… you know what you’re getting yourself into. Come on. It doesn’t just happen to women, Anthony Weiner anyone? Scandals involving privately sent pics and e-mails are almost as old as the internet. We live in an age of overexposure. It seems very obvious to me to not send naked pictures of yourself if you don’t want them seen.
Girlface –You’re using Weiner as an example? Seriously? Weiner posted a link to his junk on twitter and then posted pics under an assumed name. These women had passwords and many had deleted their pictures because they were taken years ago not knowing they’d been automatically backed up to the cloud and only found out when their accounts were hacked and pictures leaked. You’re equating the situations? I need to take a break from the internet.
And this would be victim blaming.
Yup. And an almost perfect example of it at that.
I think that’s a bit reaching. What about girls who have their pictures spread around high schools because of malicious teenagers? No one cares then, why should we care now? It’s redundant to do something just because it’s a famous person. If you’re going to be up in arms about every naked picture that circulates, it’s only fair to treat everyone the same, which means men as well. How come when Big Seans pictures were leaked no one cried sex offenders?
@Dani
That is not true though. There have been several campaigns to stop victim blaming in those situations. Feminist websites have been covering this topic for years. This is just getting more publicity because now the mainstream media in interested.
I rarely ever hear about male celebs photo leaks being covered in the same way. There is never the amount of shaming and until your comment didn’t know Big Sean had a photo leak. There is a double standard, but part of the double standard is that women are shamed more and it gets more attention. Vanessa Hudgens still gets asked about her photo leak from over 5 years ago. Men typically get to laugh it off, while women are still getting questions years later.
Even when a man and woman are involved in the same leak, the treatment is different. Years ago when Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s tape was stolen and then sold. The comments were different. People made jokes about how hung he was while they shamed her.
I agree. Dislike all these comments comparing this to rape. It’s just trivialising the victims of real sex crimes. Vapid , narcissistic people uploading nude photos when they know the risks in this day & age. I got Zero sympathy.
It is a real sex crime. Sex crimes take different forms. And the name calling reflects poorly on you, not the victims.
I have seen no one compare it to rape. Rape is not the only sex crime. This is sexual harassment, for one. It’s also something like being a peeping Tom — also a sex crime.
I can’t with you two. I really can’t.
I’ve taken nude shots. Once. Sent them to someone I was close to at the time. Present day, we don’t speak and hate each other. Does this mean I deserve to have these pics released? Does this mean that if I release her pics, she deserves it too?
The point is, yeah, you take risks. And you’ll have to deal with them. But what you’re yelling at these women for is not knowing what’s going to happen in the future, as if we’re supposed to have these powers of prediction. And no one has that. And you’re being extremely judgemental losers over it.
Good for you, you’re better than the rest of us. Must be nice to never make mistakes. Me, on the other hand? I feel for those who got hacked. I can only imagine the shame and embarrassment they must feel from people right now.
+1 million.
All these “she shouldn’t have taken the pics/that was so dumb of her/she deserves it for being famous” comments are getting on my last nerve. How can some people be so bloody unempathetic and just…stupid is absolutely beyond me. I seriously hope something like this never happens to any of you.
I’m sorry but some of you, including the writer need to think about this issue whole heartedly. YES, you are all right about it being absolutely wrong and a crime. But you want to know why people like myself, the authorities and people in general don’t feel sorry or express enough concern or empathy?
Because this isn’t some violent, random, attack on a helpless victim. I’m not saying it is right, but to put it simply.. in this day and age, especially with the lack of privacy for public figures let ALONE non public figures, these people took RISKS outside what most of us would consider rational invasiveness of privacy.
Intimacy and sex is a very private and personal. For anyone, let ALONE very famous movie stars or actors. For them to take the risk of exposing their already extremely limited privacy is utterly STUPID. There I said it.
Yes they are victims. No, I’m not blaming them. But I honestly don’t feel very sorry for them… Especially Jennifer Lawrence.
Furthermore, I completely understand taking such selfies in long distance or otherwise situations. That’s our right and anyone who violates us that way should be punished.. but it is common freakin sense to not only fully understand the extreme risks with doing so, but not even bothering to take the slightest tiny bit of precautions… Like TAKING your face out…
I agree with most of you, although I think calling them sex offenders could be a stretch, but to not encourage these people to act with caution or act like they couldn’t have EASILY prevented themselves from being identified by taking itty bitty bits of precautions is ridiculous considering the situation as a whole.
Which include Society, fame, lack of privacy and common sense.
We need to take some responsibility to protect ourselves against criminals and offenders as best we can. In this case, I consider the victims wreckless, irresponsible and downright stupid.
However, they were extremely violated and what precautions they should have taken is irrelevant.
With that said, I do think the more reasonable and effective course of action in protecting ourselves against such crimes is to first acknowledge, taking explicit nude selfies using advanced technology while fully exposing our identity is very unwise. And the best course of action we ourselves can do to prevent becoming a victim is to not do it or do it in such a way that our identity is not fully exposed.
Criminals and offenders will probably never stop trying to gain access to our privacy via technology. All we can do to them is punish them, IF we can even FIND them.
That to me, is not enough for myself to feel secure. If I can take action on my behalf to reduce the chances of my privacy being violated, you bet your ASS I will. And considering the subject matter “explicit nude fully exposed selfies stolen off advanced technology via hacking” on public figures… I can’t help but side eye and smh and ALL parties involved.
Shame on the criminals and I do hope they catch and throw the book at them.
To the victims, don’t expect pity or sympathy from me if you’re going to be so very clearly irresponsible.
Not victim blaming. I just think doing what they did, without taking the nessicary precautions lacks responsibility and common sense. ESPECIALLY when it is so easy to do so in this specific circumstance. SMH
You can keep saying that you aren’t blaming, but your post is full of blame. You don’t have to physically beat someone to assault them. What happened is a sex crime. And everyone who continues to look at the pictures or share them is participating in that crime. Anyone who engages in shaming is giving the hacker what they wanted. The hacker wanted in part to shame the victims. So if you are in any way calling the victims stupid, irresponsible, etc then congrats you are playing into the hackers hands.
Hacking is in part a psychological crime. One that lets the victim know that you can get to them, without ever meeting them.
I don’t get it. So If somebody hacks into your banking account, people shouldn’t feel sorry for you because it is internet, it is not safe blah blah. Is that what you are saying? And saying that you don’t feel sorry for these women shows how unempathetic you are. Even if you think they did something wrong does not mean they deserve this kind of violation to their private property.
Every other sentence is victim blaming. Don’t you have anything better to do than pass judgement on others? And why “especially not Jennifer Lawrence?” Did she pee in your wheaties? And you know what? I don’t think she or any other of the women victimized gives a rat’s ass if an un-empathetic person like you feels sorry for her or not.
There are two conversations going on here:
One of the conversations we’re having is about people protecting themselves, minimizing risk, and living defensively, as cited through the various examples of theft that ALL of us are at risk for.
The second conversation is the bigger conversation and the more important one and it’s about women being told to modify their behavior in a way that men don’t have to, so as not to become easy victims of, well, men.
Yes it’s true that every time a person takes a photo on his/her phone, one should assume that there’s a risk for that photo to be stolen. But that’s not the larger point that people are discussing.
But it becomes problematic to say that “people shouldn’t be stupid and take a big chance by taking nudie pics” because in this case it’s not really “people” but “women” who seem to be the common target of invasions of privacy– whether it be hacked photos, upskirt shots, or creepy hidden camera footage. It’s 90 degrees in Boston today, should I not wear a skirt because I’m at a greater risk for having some dude take an upskirt photo of me?
The big conversation here is men treating women’s bodies like they exist solely for men’s visual consumption, that they do not belong to us and if as a society we fail to point that out, then we’re essentially condoning their behavior.
Using this scenario: I shouldn’t walk home late at night by myself because as a woman, I know that I’m at risk. The bigger point is that men are much less at risk than I am, simply because of my gender. So even though telling me to not walk home late at night by myself under the guise of “common sense” and “living defensively”, it still doesn’t address why this scenario exists in the first place.
I think a lot of the people arguing would probably agree with each other if we addressed these topics separately, but let’s face it, it’s hard to isolate this incident from the larger context, which is that of a misogynistic society that continuously puts the onus on women to protect ourselves, instead of teaching men that women’s bodies are not public property.
So, you have no sympathy for the humiliation these women have endured and continue to endure with comments like yours? Especially not Jennifer Lawrence? Why? Because you don’t like her? Did she copy off you in school? Did she get that job promotion you wanted? Did she bully you in school and now you feel the need to kick her when she’s down? Because she and the rest of these women deserve it? Because you’re perfect and have never made mistakes? Okay, kay. Thanks for sharing.
I never thought I’d be on board with Lena Dunham but she’s summed it up (as others have). This is not a photo leak or celebrity scandal, this is a crime. The “hacker” is a hacker but he is also a criminal, no more or less. It’s the same line as identity theft. Laws and enforcement have to get with the program (no pun intended). As we go more and more digital/paperless etc so too must our security.
Apple is disappointing. Maybe instead of working on the next best thing they spend a little more time on what they have already. I know they can’t be expected to stay ahead of criminal minds but they should be trying harder. iCloud confuses me a little (okay, a lot), I need it in the equivalent of toddler speak. I know I’m not alone. Am I asking too much of Apple to secure my stuff??
I hope Jennifer Lawrence comes through this unscathed. I don’t mean her career, I think we’re all grown up about it enough (save a few and I suspect the “internet” will deal with them) but psychologically. It takes time to get over your house being burgled, I don’t know if the virtual one will be easier or harder.
If Target, UPS, Supervalu, etc., etc., etc., (who else got hacked recently?) can’t keep your private data safe, then can realistically expect Apple to do any better?
So yes, you really ARE asking too much of Apple to secure your stuff. There is always the chance that you will be hacked. On the other hand, there’s always the chance your house will be robbed and your photos/data stolen that way.
(It’s not even clear that the Apple icloud security flaw was the problem here … going on the latest reports it seems to be a number of hackers individually getting access to certain accounts, then trading photos between them. So lots of little hacks rather than one big hack. Could be multiple sources that got hacked.)
I feel for these women, i really do. It’s their right to take these photos. But under no circumstances should ANYONE trust storing these photos on a physical device that is not 100% in their control.
Once you upload photos to these servers, who knows what happens to them. You could have some employee at the server facility monitoring contents of these files (very, very easy for folks with admin priviledges to do this). There could instances where files/photos are stored on multiple servers for backups. Delete it in one location, and the copy remains on the other., etc
There are two issues here: the douchebag that hacked into the server. Let the feds handle him.
And people believing and trusting companies like Apple to store their private information. Anyone can look up a celebrity (or normal persons) information online to get the security question answers these companies have you set when you forget your acct information. Simple use of proxies to have emails redirected to them, etc..
I work in the computer security sector. And I can tell you there are alot, and i mean alot, of bells and whistles, promises and guarantees, but nothing, NOTHING is 100% secure.
So in short, take your private pictures if you want to, but for gods sake, store them in your house, and/or a device you have 100% control over. Now people breaking into houses (pam anderson), hacking into personal computers (scarjo) is a whole other issue. But uploading them to a public server, and hoping your little sliver of it is protected is naive at best.
Oh, and this happens alot to normal people too, only folks do not hear about it. Normal folks either do not know their pics were stolen (if you don not surf these nefarious sites you wouldnt know, unless someone told you. being a celeb, you get more attention and would hear about it) or they find out, but don’t have the means to stop it (money, lawyers, etc).
Just don’t upload them to the cloud. Its like tossing 1000s of dollars up in the air, and hoping every single dollar lands on your hand. Not gonna happen in todays sick world.
Thank God I’m too skint to buy Apple products.
I find some of these comments here really offensive. The “I would never do that” and “they should have known better” just sounds like smug trolling to me. Congratulations, you’re better than the victims, Ms. judgmental. Ugh…so gross.
Those comments focus attention on the victims, shaming them over again, as if they haven’t already been shamed enough. They have to live with permanent nude pics out on the internet. I find that really sad and humiliating and a little empathy is what’s called for here, not self- centered gloating.
When you think about it, some of these ladies are quite young, and 1 is under-aged. That’s what some young people do nowadays. Unfortunately, young ones don’t think through their actions all the time. I certainly hope that if this happened to say, your young daughter or niece or neighbor, and she was upset and crying about it, that you wouldn’t coldly look her in the eyes and say, “Well, you only have yourself to blame and you should have known better because it’s on your private phone, dummy.”
Oh and by the way, even if you don’t have nude photos of yourself, you do have personal information on your phone. Hackers can get to that and get into your accounts. The big Target breach was from people using their debit cards. It may not be photos, but it can be other things. Blaming the victims places the focus on the victims rather than the evil hackers. Stealing someone’s intimate photos and turning that person into a FOREVER porn star against their will should be much more important as a topic!
I am sure it’s upsetting, but I think the best reaction these celebs could give would be, “Yeah, that’s me. Don’t I look good? F you.” Then the hackers will have done all of this for nothing and got zero rise out of their victims.
I remember back in the late 80s/early 90s when Playboy decided to publish nude photos of Madonna that were taken way before she was famous by an art student. Her attitude was like, “So f—ing what?” and then she released that SEX book. It was a beautiful thing.
I’m sure there are some photos and possibly even videos of me out there… my ex swears he deleted them but I made peace with it a long time ago that they might surface. And if they do, I’ll say, “Look how hot I used to be? My ass was FINE.”
As a (gay) male, this situation pisses me off to no end. A lot of the comments that I’ve seen have basically been a rehashing of “victim blaming 101”. So I’m just going to answer some lingering questions.
Yes, women are allowed to take intimate photos.
Yes, they are allowed to store them in a place that they feel and have been told is secure.
Yes, they are allowed a right to privacy with regards to their body and yes, they can choose who is allowed to be within that circle of privacy.
What occurred here was a sexist crime. Famous women were targeted, and had their privacy violated for the fact that they are WOMEN. Sure, Fame played a part in it, but let’s be honest, Victoria Justice/Becca Tobin are on the lists and unless you’ve seen their 1 show, you probably wouldn’t be able to pick them out of a lineup. There is a reason why the victim is always female and it’s not because men don’t send out d*ck pics. Hell, I would imagine men send out more d*ck pics. Male Athletes alone probably send out a treasure trove to various women. Fortunately for them, there aren’t that many female pervs looking to objectify their bodies.
Thank you.
Best comment on this thread.
+10000000
I don’t understand the statement about answering lingering questions. It came off to me as a male thinking he has a bigger say in this then all the women in the thread. I would suggest what a male can do and should do, if he is a righteous person, is to support laws that protect all from sex crimes. There needs to be a change in the way the internet runs and there needs to be a change in how sex crimes are treated. People get so much time for selling freaking marijuana, yet no time for child molestation. I love men, not boys, but men. With that being said if females stuck together more, more things can get done that effect us the most. Women and men are both victims of sex crimes.
“With that being said if females stuck together more..”
No. This isn’t about women not sticking together. It’s just not.
Supporting laws that protect all from sex crimes is good, but it still doesn’t address why these crimes are happening. Who are the greatest victims of rape and sexual assault? Hint: it is not men. That doesn’t mean that men should not be protected from sexual abuse or assault, but it does mean that we should be addressing why men make up the majority of the people perpetrating these crimes.
How are we socializing our young men? What are we teaching them in regards to respecting women not just in private, but in public spaces?
This topic really isn’t about women banding together to affect change, it has to happen as a society, collectively, from both men and women recognizing how we raise our young men.
Your post is the most beautiful one on this thread, TOK. Thanks for sharing that <3
Agreed. If I or anyone else want to make pictures of my naked butt I am going to do it.
Taking it from a personal device or platform is simply a crime.
I dont know why blaming those women is even a discussion.
What does anyone have to lose by showing a little compassion, for God’s sake? It’s as if some people enjoy indulging in a lack of empathy, which is gross.
I hate apple and I hate icloud. It seriously screwed up my ipod! All these songs I downloaded would disapear and id have to re download them. So annoying. So glad my phone is a samsung!
Never ever take nude pics! Every phone, every computer is on a network. Every program, app, messenger makes back-ups and uses clouds. And hacker can get everything.
This stuff happend to a girl in my old school. Her then boyfriend(!) asked her for nude pictures. After their breakup this a-hole was “sharing” the pictures with his boys… they all made copies… It was impossible to track them all down. These pictures are in the net forever.
Don´t take nude photos! You can´t trust technology and humans.
If you want to take the risk then cover your face and tattoos which could identify you. Use a blank background etc.
And please note that your boyfriend/husband maybe isn´t your boyfriend/husband forever…
This!
Dany, you’re completely right!
Or take nude photos but only if you don’t give a shit who is going to see them:P:P
Three of my ex-boyfriends and my husband all have naked pics of me. None have been spread around. This is because none of those guys are misogynistic, boundary-violating, disgusting pieces of crap.
You’re victim-blaming massively. Bad things can happen, and you can’t control everything, but to teach girls that you must fear fear FEAR all the time because no men can be trusted ever (!!!) only hurts girls and women.
Thank you so, SO much. This is just like “miniskirts get you raped”. They COULD have been more careful, but the fact they weren’t gives those guys absolutely NO right to violate their privacy, and they are in all of their right to complain and take legal action.
The criminals are the people meant to modify their conduct, not us.
Exactly right ! Sorry but on what planet are people living on – there are information leaks left and right so how do you expect your information to remain private? Hell the laws haven’t even kept up to the technology. The fact as illustrated by this and other data leaks is that there are true SBags out there whose sole purpose is to get your data, photos, identity, etc.
You want to share these types of moments with your partner/spouse/etc then understand there is a risk – whatever the medium.
The gossipy me want to know who was taking all the pictures for JLaw. Many of them are apparently taken by another person.
This is a great week for gossip~
Really? That’s what you’ve taken from this sorry saga? That’s it’s a ‘great week for gossip’? How about some empathy instead?
I am sorry. I though everyone on this site is for the gossip?
There needs to be an update to our copyright laws that say people own any naked imagery of themselves unless they sign the right to an image away, and if someone is distributing, or downloading, any naked pictures they are not legally allowed to, they can get HUGE ($100,000+) fines. That’s the only way any of this is going to stop. It will help with child p40n, too.
That’s a really good idea. I like seeing people saying stuff like this, about what we can do to punish the perpetrators to stop these crimes. So often it’s either victim-blaming (which is infecting these comments), or only hand-wringing.
It is good news that the FBI will be involved. Celebrities are humans who like everyone else are entitled to intimacy – a prerequisite to a loving relationship so they are allowed to take nudes and share with their mates. The general public have no right to see their nudes without their consent. The inter web is full of nude pictures which is more than adequate to fulfil the need of peeping toms.
No one deserves to have personal photos, nude or not, stolen (because that is basically what happened) and released to the general public. The person or persons responsible are disgusting human beings for doing what they did. That being said, I hope this serves a huge wake-up call to everyone out there that nothing done on your phone, computer, tablet, etc is really secure. Yeah it would be fantastic to live in a world where we wouldn’t have to worry about private and intimate photos, conversations, text, etc being released; but alas that is not the world we live in.
There is nothing wrong with taking nude pictures of yourself, pictures of yourself in sexual acts, etc and sending them to whoever you please. But it is also important to remember that anything sent via your phone, email, etc – can also easily (unfortunately) be hijacked and stolen by someone other than the intended to recipient. It absolutely sucks and is completely wrong, but that risk is always there.
I bet Lindsay Lohan is thrilled about this. Wonder if goop orchestrated this whole thing to come out on top and just had other chicks hacked to cover her tracks? Kidding.
If these weren’t sent to trustworthy people we would have seen these already. These are available bc disgusting hacker sex offending creeps put a disturbing amount of time into making it so. You can disagree with their choice to take these pictures but you can’t disagree this was a violation of their basic right to privacy.
They have a reasonable expectation of privacy and protection of their property under the law so any way you slice this they are victims. You don’t get to disagree with that or put cute air quotes around it. They’re victims.
I think theorigonalkitten nabbed what I was trying to say.
I disagree that my post blamed them, saying anyone is wreckless or irresponsible is not nessicary blame, but a fact. We teach our kids to look both ways before crossing the street. Why? Because that’s smart and safe. We lock our cars and homes and set up alarms to protect our property. Why? To lessen the chance of someone robbing us and getting away.
My post was not gender related. I’m a gay man and I absolutely acknowledge woman are treated very differently. You ladies have it tough, my post was not aimed at being gender specific or victim blaming but more of a view pertaining to the subject matter of responsibility and safety, tohelp protect ourselves better.
As a gay man, if I make the choice to engage in sexual activity without protection, even if say, the person has and knows they have an STD, I have to take some responsibility for not practicing safe sex, and I’m a dude so I’m using myself as an example.
It has already been established who the victims are, and how serious this crime is.
But as someone who tries my very best to protect myself and my property, o exercise and encoirage
Kids still get hit by cars when looking both ways, though. You can take all the necessary steps to protect yourself, but if hackers spend months or years targeting you, there’s little to nothing you can do.
WOW EDIT: i posted on my HTC and i’ve been a fan of the site for years but this is the first day i actually started making comments. Let me continue fully responding.
I think theorigonalkitten nabbed what I was trying to say.
I disagree that my post blamed them, saying anyone is wreckless or irresponsible is not necessary blame, but a fact. We teach our kids to look both ways before crossing the street. Why? Because that’s smart and safe. We lock our cars and homes and set up alarms to protect our property. Why? To lessen the chance of someone robbing us and getting away.
My post was not gender related. I’m a gay man and I absolutely acknowledge woman are treated very differently. You ladies have it tough, my post was not aimed at being gender specific or victim blaming but more of a view pertaining to the subject matter of responsibility and safety, to help protect ourselves better.
As a gay man, if I make the choice to engage in sexual activity without protection, even if say, the person has and knows they have an STD, I have to take some responsibility for not practicing safe sex, and I’m a dude so I’m using myself as an example.
It has already been established who the victims are, and how serious this crime is.
But as someone who tries my very best to protect myself and my property, I exercise and encourage others to do the same. everyone makes mistakes and nothing is 100% safe, but that shouldnt be an excuse to not put forth some effort to protect yourself in anyway.
Girls, Ladies, I really do feel for you. When I think about this a bit deeper I do feel sorry and more compassionate towards you and the victims. Woman and especially young girls have it hard.
However, please stop using examples of RAPE, MURDER, AND BANK ACCOUNT THEFT as other examples just because they are crimes. That irks me. Here’s why: Do you really honestly believe those examples, although criminal acts, are on the same level of stolen nude selfies? Absurd imo, and hurts your argument because it is THAT wildly absurd of an example.
It has already been established they are victims of a crime.
It has already been established the criminals should be punished.
It has already been established woman are treated much more harshly, abused and held to wildly different standards than men.
What I am trying to say is this: first of all, I find the whole issue of taking selfies like that immature, which further exasperates my sternness. Then comes the issue of it being so easily preventable.
If we want to make an argument about how woman are viewed as objects and subjected to such harsh standards of abuse, using this specific issue is not the best place to do it. Why? Because their are many people (probably more woman than men i’m guessing) who can’t look at it more deeply than “Well…. that’s what happens when you do that and don’t exercise caution.”
I’m not going to go into what the criminals did because it is point blank and clear what they did was a crime regardless.
This issue could have been easily more preventable(although nothing is 100%) by practicing the same advice I was given in the subject matter pertaining to sex: Use a CONDOM. And yes it IS a crime to engage in sexual activity if you know you have HIV and don’t tell your partner. In my opinion, this specific subject isn’t really any different when it comes to practicing responsibility and safety, even if there is no guarantee 100% it will prevent you from becoming a victim.
These people were irresponsible and that is just the fact of the matter. It doesn’t mean they arent victims or deserve the blame, but discounting common sense, responsibility and safety measures in life and in serious issues like crimes being committed only hurts us as a society from acknowledging such important issues, like how woman are treated so unfairly.
On a personal note, yeah I THINK it is an immature, stupid thing to do. Not being responsible and safe implies immaturity , let alone not taking into account the consequences that could arise from such actions… And IMO taking selfies is stupid TO ME. It’s not my thing. If it’s yours, you are not stupid, and i’m not calling you stupid. it just isn’t my thing.
On a final note, it is a known thing this happens in the hollywood circle all the time… You would think they would be more cautious than the rest of us considering their level of privacy is extremely limited to the point of not having any at all. One of the first things celebrities should be taught is the dangers of using technology for intimate interactions.
WELL SAID!!!!
I especially love the last paragraph and the 7th paragraph in your comment (in regards to those SILLY examples being used to support an argument.)
I respect what you are saying, and I agree that it’s hard for me personally to relate to taking numerous nude selfies, so initially I wasn’t as sympathetic as maybe I should have been. But I think why they take the pictures is beside the point. People are sexual, whether they express it in vain, silly ways like selfies, is up to them. Are they supposed to spend every minute of their lives behaving as if they are being watched? Respectfully, being a gay man does not make you understand what it feels like to be a woman in this situation. I could say “Imagine if you knew the whole world was looking at naked pictures of you”, and yes you might be able to comprehend the mortification on some level, but to dismiss the fact this is a modern, albeit un-physical, form of sexual assault is irresponsible. I know how many times I was “casually” assaulted in my life – on the NY subway, at a party/on the dancefloor when strangers decide it’s ok to grab a body part they have no right to, being catcalled, so subtly harassed at work it’s not worth trying to prove, having men solicit me for sex on social media when I’ve never put up any kind of remotely sexual picture in my life. These kinds of things are just part of life as a woman, if you’re LUCKY enough not to have suffered a “real” form of sexual assault that is prosecutable by law. The level of objectification is unreal and this hacking scandal is just a reflection of society as a whole. Whoever took away these women’s rights to not have the world see them naked has assaulted them imo, they spent god knows how many days/weeks/months concentrating on hacking into their private lives. If that’s not a deliberate assualt or violation then I don’t know what is. Because they are famous does not mean they don’t have a right to be who they are without threat of public degradation. I get that it sounds naive to anyone who thinks along the lines of “Well I would never be so stupid, whatever”, but it’s an easy way out to blame the victim here. Did you make any stupid sexual decisions when you were 20? I know I did, and thankfully it was before the internet.
Unfortunately this conversation has been made into being about women and it has nothing to do with that. If a famous man had sent a nude photo of himself and been caught would we feel differently? We would be doing the same thing and making him into a sexual object especially if it was Brad, Geroge, Ben A. etc. This is not about women it is about privacy. As well, unfortunately these famous people need to realize that the internet and iCloud are not secure. The moment you put something on the internet or iCloud it really is public domain. Anyone with a brain realizes this. Please tell me that people on this site don’t really believe that the internet is private? Yes, banking on the internet is risky, so is buying stuff with your credit card online. I take those risks but I don’t blame others if it goes wrong – I knew the risk. Same for nude pictures – male (I’m talking to you Anthony Weiner) or female if you don’t want your stuff shown around don’t send or post it!!! Good grief most 13 year olds know that!
I’m sorry, but Ricky’s right. If you must have nude pictures of yourself on a computer, army least put it on one not hooked up to the Internet. Then at least you just have to worry about realspace thieves managing to get past your passwords which I’m sure you have made appropriately difficult… Really, computers are vulnerable once connected to the rest of the world. iPhones are computers. For the record, I’ve always had doubts about the security of clouds in general on any system.
While we’re on the subject- back up your work frequently to another device because hard disks and other storage media do fail at the most inconvenient times. Electronic media are not only vulnerable to hackers but also to other things. If you don’t want to waste time reconstructing what you’ve just done, back it up…
ok so… women and girls are absolutely not allowed to take photos of themselves to send to their significant others as a part of their mutual relationships because some criminal out there might BREAK IN TO a girl’s private phone and WITHOUT HER CONSENT make her personal photos public.
yea that sounds like blaming the victim. because it is.
these women DID exercise caution. they were HACKED. they had passwords, and many had already deleted the photos which the hacker found elsewhere. this means they already had the locks on the proverbial doors and the doors were broken into.
and that gay man up there who is all “it’s a nude selfie it’s not the same as a bank account” i guess he means that a woman has less of a right to her body than she has to her bank account.
because he is making a moral judgement when he calls them immature for choosing to take pics intended for their significant others. and him calling them immature makes it easier for him to shrug off their violation.
seeing a woman naked is a privilege, not a right.
she absolutely deserves the same amount of privacy for her body as she does for her bank account. Even more so, since the body houses the mind, while the bank account only holds money.
companies absolutely should protect ALL of their customers’ privacy, both health information and pictures sent over their networks. THAT IS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO THE PEOPLE USING THEIR SERVICE!
these women are victims, and are blameless.
the hackers are criminals, and sex offenders.
the only immature ones here are those who are saying the women should have not trusted the companies they paid to provide for them.
end of line.
Exactly.
When I was growing up, we had Polaroid. Perhaps tossing that technology altogether wasn’t such a good idea?
Honestly, I find this whole thing very troubling, and the lack of sympathy for the victims is what troubles me most of all. The same women who jump up and down apoplectic about equality for women and the sanctity of a woman’s body and the right of a woman to embrace her sexuality without being called a who**….are oddly and disturbingly unsympathetic when something like this happens to a rich, famous woman. Envy is ugly, and I can think of no other explanation for such a heartless response to such a humiliating violation of private images taken for private consumption. This isn’t paparazzi taking pictures of them at the grocery store or after yoga when they look bad and don’t want to be papped. This is theft of personal property and sexual assault.
But again…polaroid. Bring it back, People.
I feel a lot of sympathy for these poor women. The hacker has behaved horrifically and should go to prison for a sex crime offence, invasion of privacy and data hacking.
There is absolutely no shame in taking pictures of yourself. My advice to my students (social media and ethics) is always to not store naked pictures of themselves with their face in the image, their bank/card details in one place or something they absolutely do not want someone else to see because there will always be that chance they will be distributed by a hacker, a former significant other, an IT guy at a store etc. That’s the 21st century. It’s not right but sadly there are a lot of people out there hell-bent on invading your privacy.