Federal authorities have charged a Pennsylvania man with hacking the email and online accounts of female Hollywood stars as part of their investigation into the 2014 “Celebgate” leak of private, nude photos of dozens of celebrities.
Ryan Collins, 36, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of felony violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in relation to a scheme through which he gained access to 50 Apple iCloud accounts and 72 Gmail accounts that mostly belonged to female celebrities.
A plea agreement, filed in Los Angeles federal court Tuesday, indicates that Mr. Collins used an email phishing scheme to trick victims into providing the usernames and passwords for their online accounts, enabling him to gain access to private information they stored on the sites. In some instances, downloaded the entire contents of the victims’ Apple iCloud backups.
The agreement does not list the celebrities whose accounts were hacked by Mr. Collins, but images pilfered from the accounts of actresses like Jennifer Lawrence, Kirsten Dunst and Kaley Cuoco were all released online as part of the Celebgate hack.
While authorities say Mr. Collins hacked into the accounts between 2012 and 2014 and obtained access to personal information the victims had stored online, like videos and nude photos, they said there was no indication that he was responsible for leaking the files or posting them online.
The actresses, most notably Ms. Lawrence, spoke out about the hack. “The Hunger Games” star fought back against the characterization of the hack as a “scandal,” calling it something far more serious.
“It is a sex crime. It is a sexual violation,” she told Vanity Fair.
Prosecutors with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California brought the charges against Mr. Harris but noted that as part of his arrangement, his case would be transferred to the Middle District of Pennsylvania, near his Lancaster home, for the entry of his guilty plea and sentencing.
As part of the agreement, Mr. Collins is expected to receive a prison sentence of 18 months, though the crime carries a maximum penalty of up to five years.
The investigation into the hack is considered ongoing by authorities.
Those involved in the investigation noted that the damage caused to the individuals whose personal information was leaked is ongoing as well.
“By illegally accessing intimate details of his victims’ personal lives, Mr. Collins violated their privacy and left many to contend with lasting emotional distress, embarrassment and feelings of insecurity,” said David Bowdich, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “We continue to see both celebrities and victims from all walks of life suffer the consequences of this crime and strongly encourage users of Internet-connected devices to strengthen passwords and to be skeptical when replying to emails asking for personal information.”
• Andrea Noble can be reached at anoble@washingtontimes.com.
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