FBI probes celeb Cloud leaks

The FBI said on Monday it was investigating possible criminal violations in the breach of private files. It comes after the internet release of sometimes nude images and videos of dozens of celebrities, including Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence (pictured) and model Kate Upton.

The FBI said it was "aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals, and is addressing the matter," spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said in a statement.

"Any further comment would be inappropriate at this time," Eimiller said.

Lawrence contacted authorities after the images began appearing over the weekend. The images were posted to an online bulletin board before spreading rapidly across the internet. Twitter has been suspending accounts that linked to the photos.

Tech fallout

While the authenticity of all images cannot be verified, the leak appears to be a huge hack of one or more cloud data services. Tech giant Apple says it's urgently reviewing the security of its iCloud storage service, and whether any accounts had been tampered with.

Tech companies are having to deal with the fallout after having marketed storage systems like iCloud, DropBox or GoogleDrive as a safe haven for users' private data.

Some cybersecurity experts have warned of weaknesses in online storage platforms.

"It is important for celebrities and the general public to remember that images and data no longer reside on the device that captured it," #link:http://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/vulnerability-management/massive-leak-of-celebrity-nude-photos-calls-apples-icloud-security-into-question/:security researcher Ken Westin wrote in a blog post on the Tripwire website#.

"Once images and other data are uploaded to the cloud, it becomes much more difficult to control who has access to it, even if we think it is private," Westin said.

It is not the first time the FBI has had to investigate high-profile hackings. Last year, credit reports and other financial information of celebrities, including singers Jay Z and Beyonce, and actors Mel Gibson and Ashton Kutcher, were posted online.

In a separate case, convictions were recorded against Florida man Christopher Chaney, after he used publicly available information to hack into the email accounts of more than 50 Hollywood figures.

jr/ksb (AP, dpa)