# How did a hacker specifically find those celebs. phones to get their nude pictures? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 1, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163 "2014-09-01T16:12:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/1 "2014-09-01T16:12:35Z")
Yesterday, some guy over on 4chan posted a tremendous amount of female celebrity nude pictures that he got from, according to most sources, the Icloud. I’m not sure I entirely believe that, but most of the celebs. are acknowledging that the pictures are legitimate and a tremendous invasion of privacy. My question isn’t just about the hacking. My question is how a hacker could not only hack into Apple’s Icloud, but could also locate celebrities accounts. Most of us don’t name our phone or our Apple account after our full name. For example, I rather doubt Jennifer Lawrence’s phone(appleid) is JenniferLawrence. Is the whole concept of this being a one-time massive hack a myth? Or is there something I don’t understand about this situation? How could anyone find specific person’s cloud account even if they had hacking capabilities? [For those in the dark, here is an entirely SFW news story about the situation.](http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/gossip/jennifer-lawrence-celebrities-nude-photos-leaked-internet-article-1.1923369) Note: Obviously, this thread will not contain any links to these photos and I don’t even want a discussion about how to locate and view them. This is strictly about the hacking concept and concerns related to that. I’m not a mod, but I would say not even spoiler-tagged links or broken links should be used for these photos. Absolutely off limits in this thread is my request. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/2 "2014-09-01T16:29:58Z")
There is a current thread. > **[The Internet is abuzz right now with a massive celebrity cellphone hack.](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=732747)** > > Story This particular hack seems to be through Apple’s iCloud. I won’t link to any of the photographs that have come out, but you may rest assured that if you wish to sate your curiosity you can fine what you’re looking for as fast as you can type... My impression is that multiple people are involved; not a massive hack by one person. A few relevant articles: > **[Nude celebrity picture leak looks like phishing or email account hack](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/01/nude-celebrity-pictures-hack-jennifer-lawrence-rihanna)** > > Apple’s iCloud service may have been the source of the photos but security experts think password hacks are likely explanation By Charles Arthur > **[This could be the iCloud flaw that led to celebrity photos being leaked...](https://thenextweb.com/news/this-could-be-the-apple-icloud-flaw-that-led-to-celebrity-photos-being-leaked)** > > Update: “We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report,” Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris told Recode. > Update 2: On September 2, Apple said that the celebrity photo breaches were a targeted attack unrelated > **['Find My iPhone' exploit may be to blame for celebrity photo hacks (update) |...](https://www.engadget.com/2014-09-01-find-my-iphone-exploit.html)** > > ​We don't need to rake over the gory details here, but in the last 12 hours, the internet has lost its "you know what" over some leaked celebrity photos. > **[Here's What We Know So Far About The Celebrity Photo Hack](https://techcrunch.com/2014/09/01/heres-what-we-know-so-far-about-the-celebrity-photo-hack/)** > > UPDATE: Clearly this post was written very early on in this incident and information has since come to light which suggests Apple has majorly dropped the ball. Original post: As you will by now have probably read, around 100 women celebrities... Techmeme lists multiple articles: > **[Techmeme](https://www.techmeme.com/)** > > The essential tech news of the moment. Technology's news site of record. Not for dummies. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/3 "2014-09-01T16:36:57Z")
Why would celebrities put nude pictures of themselves anywhere, cloud or whatever, unless they are a part of their promotional portfolio. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/4 "2014-09-01T16:39:55Z")
From what I’ve heard it usually starts with breaking in a phone account owned by somebody in the entertainment business like an agent or studio executive. They have the private phone numbers for a bunch of actresses and singers. And a hacker can use this information to target their phones. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/5 "2014-09-01T16:44:51Z")
One hypothesis that I read is that the wifi at the theater where the Emmys were held was compromised. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/6 "2014-09-01T16:46:07Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Why would celebrities put nude pictures of themselves anywhere, cloud or whatever, unless they are a part of their promotional portfolio. Do you know how iCloud works? That’s where the data on your device is automatically backed up. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/7 "2014-09-01T16:48:33Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Do you know how iCloud works? That’s where the data on your device is automatically backed up. Not necessarily automatically (I didn’t enable it/disabled it for photos on my iPhone), but it’s considered a good idea as it’s done on the fly and provides an offsite backup in addition to what you back up on your home computer. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/8 "2014-09-01T16:49:53Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Do you know how iCloud works? That’s where the data on your device is automatically backed up. I understand that, but why do those nude pictures exist at all? For what purpose are they nude anywhere near their device? ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/9 "2014-09-01T16:50:57Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I understand that, but why do those nude pictures exist at all? For what purpose are they nude anywhere near a camera? Don’t know very many people in their 20s and 30s, I take it. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/10 "2014-09-01T16:56:03Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Why would celebrities put nude pictures of themselves anywhere, cloud or whatever, unless they are a part of their promotional portfolio. > [@hajario](#): > > Do you know how iCloud works? That’s where the data on your device is automatically backed up. One actress, Mary E. Winstead, says that the pictures of her and her husband were deleted from her phone years ago. But they still exist in the iCloud. > **[FBI Is 'Addressing' Massive Celebrity Photo Hack](https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/hackers-post-alleged-naked-pics-jennifer-lawrence-kate/story?id=25200140)** > > The FBI said today it is "aware" that someone has leaked nude photos purporting to be pictures of dozens of A-list celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton and is "addressing the matter." Once your iPhone or your Android device has been synced to off-phone storage you no longer have control of your data. You may think that you do but you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/11 "2014-09-01T16:59:20Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > One hypothesis that I read is that the wifi at the theater where the Emmys were held was compromised. > [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > One actress, Mary E. Winstead, says that the pictures of her and her husband were deleted from her phone years ago. But they still exist in the iCloud. > > [FBI Is 'Addressing' Massive Celebrity Photo Hack - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/hackers-post-alleged-naked-pics-jennifer-lawrence-kate/story?id=25200140) > > Once your iPhone or your Android device has been synced to off-phone storage you no longer have control of your data. You may think that you do but you don’t. Are you suggesting she could not have removed her photos from the cloud and prevented this? Again, my inquiry is how the celebrities phone accounts were found. That’s pretty specific. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/12 "2014-09-01T17:00:06Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Not necessarily automatically (I didn’t enable it/disabled it for photos on my iPhone), but it’s considered a good idea as it’s done on the fly and provides an offsite backup in addition to what you back up on your home computer. Yes. Good point. You can disable the function. > [@jtur88](#): > > I understand that, but why do those nude pictures exist at all? For what purpose are they nude anywhere near their device? You don’t understand why people take naked pictures? I can’t help you there. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/13 "2014-09-01T17:01:34Z")
> [@Dallas\_Jones](#): > > One actress, Mary E. Winstead, says that the pictures of her and her husband were deleted from her phone years ago. But they still exist in the iCloud. > > [FBI Is 'Addressing' Massive Celebrity Photo Hack - ABC News](http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/hackers-post-alleged-naked-pics-jennifer-lawrence-kate/story?id=25200140) > > Once your iPhone or your Android device has been synced to off-phone storage you no longer have control of your data. You may think that you do but you don’t. It could be that she didn’t properly delete them. You have to delete them off of your device as well as the cloud account. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/14 "2014-09-01T17:14:03Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It could be that she didn’t properly delete them. You have to delete them off of your device as well as the cloud account. Yeah. Is there evidence that the leak(s) are(were) from other sources than Icloud? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/15 "2014-09-01T17:20:59Z")
Not that I’ve seen so far. And apparently the brute force attempt bug is now no longer working, so Apple seems to have quietly (they’re not commenting yet) patched it. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/16 "2014-09-01T17:54:27Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Not that I’ve seen so far. And apparently the brute force attempt bug is now no longer working, so Apple seems to have quietly (they’re not commenting yet) patched it. What patch did they release? And again, how could a hacker not only get in, but find celebs. phones specifically? ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/17 "2014-09-01T18:09:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > My question isn’t just about the hacking. My question is how a hacker could not only hack into Apple’s Icloud, but could also locate celebrities accounts. Most of us don’t name our phone or our Apple account after our full name. For example, I rather doubt Jennifer Lawrence’s phone(appleid) is JenniferLawrence. I don’t know if that’s a good assumption to make. Most people I know do in fact use their full names in their Apple accounts and their email addresses. If that was the case with the celebrities in question (remember, these are just regular people who happen to perform in front of a camera for a living, not State Department personnel who receive security support from an IT department), then locating their accounts would appear to simply be a case of [guessing and luck.](http://thenextweb.com/apple/2014/09/01/this-could-be-the-apple-icloud-flaw-that-led-to-celebrity-photos-being-leaked/) ---
**Author:** ![dofe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7ba0ec/32.png) [@dofe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dofe)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/18 "2014-09-01T18:16:57Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > What patch did they release? And again, how could a hacker not only get in, but find celebs. phones specifically? To add to my post above, I’m not sure what you mean by finding phones specifically. If this was a breach of [iCloud](https://www.icloud.com/) as the reports indicate, all the hacker needed to do is find or guess the celebrity’s Apple ID and password. The specific phones are inmaterial here. ---
**Author:** ![Oddball\_92](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/b3f665/32.png) [@Oddball\_92](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oddball_92)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/19 "2014-09-01T20:11:43Z")
I would have to thoroughly inspect the pics to give an answer ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2014, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163/20 "2014-09-01T21:31:28Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Yes. Good point. You can disable the function. > > You don’t understand why people take naked pictures? I can’t help you there. i can understand why bored people surfing singles sites do, but not successful celebrities. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-a-hacker-specifically-find-those-celebs-phones-to-get-their-nude-pictures/697163.md?page=2)