Is your smartphone safe? Celebrity nude photo scandal raises security concerns
NEW YORK (WABC) -- It might be the biggest celebrity hacking scandal ever - private photos of up to 100 celebrities were posted on the internet after their phones or computers were hacked. Dozens of A-list celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton were among those who had photos leaked. A site called 4Chan allegedly did post the pictures, some of which were apparently taken years ago. However how they got hacked could happen to anyone.
"Even if you've deleted photos from your phone, they continue to exist," said security expert Clifford Neuman.
On Monday, Apple patched a vulnerability on its "Find my iPhone" app, which some reports indicated may have been the weakness that was exploited by the hacker who obtained the nude pictures. In a brief statement, Apple said in a statement, "We take user privacy very seriously, and are actively investigating this report."
Response from celebrities was limited, but actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead said, "to those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves knowing those photos were deleted long ago. I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked."
Security expert Chester Wisniewski says that it is very easy for an intruder to see everything you are doing. A quarter of private Wifi networks have weak or even no passwords to gain access, and that is another open door for hackers to walk through right into your privacy, exposing emails, financial accounts and photos.
