Man involved with ‘Celebgate’ pleads guilty, faces up to 5 years in prison

In 2014, a security breach of iCloud accounts, many of which targeted, celebrities, broke out among iOS users. A team of hackers got a hold of more than 30 celebrities’ iCloud credentials with unrestricted access to the victim’s iCloud account. Namely, the private images and videos of these celebrities which were later leaked onto the internet.

One of these hackers, 28-year-old Edward Majerczyk is facing up to 5 years’ time in federal prison for violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. He has plead guilty to accessing over 300 Gmail/iCloud without authorization.

As for the actual leaking of these photos, there are other hackers suspected to having done so, and Majerczyk is not being charged for the actual distribution of private information.

Majerzyk and his team of Hackers were able to pull off a phishing scheme to gain access to such accounts. Phishing is tricking the victim into entering their username and password into a falsified version of a major site in order to retrieve the victim’s credentials.

He sent e-mails to victims that appeared to be from security accounts of internet service providers that directed the victims to a website that would collect the victims’ usernames and passwords. After victims responded by entering information at that website, Majerczyk had access to victims’ usernames and passwords. After illegally accessing the iCloud and Gmail accounts, Majerczyk obtained personal information including sensitive and private photographs and videos, according to his plea agreement.

These kinds of attacks can happen to anyone and we are reminded to always keep our data safe. Remember to change your passwords frequently, refrain from using the same password for more than one account, and always be mindful of where you are entering your login credentials. The connected world has made it easier for identity thefts to steal sensitive information. Keep your data private.

Source | Via