One of the men involved in the 2014 “Celebgate” nude photo hacks, also commonly known as “The Fappening,” has pled guilty to charges of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
28-year-old Edward Majerczyk will face up to five years in federal prison for his role in sourcing nude pictures of female celebrities by hacking in to their iOS or Gmail accounts.
Fellow hacker Ryan Collins, 36, was also given up to five years when sentenced in March 2016, though prosecutors recommended 18 months after reaching a plea deal.
Majerczyk used a phishing scam to trick celebrities in to entering online credentials into fake security sites, accessing more than 300 iCloud and Gmail accounts. Neither he nor Collins have been charged with distributing the content they stole, however.
“As most of us use devices containing private information, cases like this remind us to protect our data,” stated FBI assistant director Deirdre Fike in a press statement.
Related reading: Apple brings two-factor authentication to iMessage and FaceTime
[source]Justice.gov[/source]
