Feds Charge Man for Hacking Celebrities' Apple and Gmail Accounts

RadioOnFire.com - The Justice Department announced charges on Friday against a 28-year-old Illinois man, Edward Majerczyk, who has been under investigation for a notorious hacking incident related to celebrities’ private accounts, including those of actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton.

According to prosecutors, Majerczyk will plead guilty over using “spear-phishing” attacks to obtain the log-in credentials for more than 300 Gmail and iCloud accounts. The attacks relied on fake security emails from Apple and Gmail, which persuaded the victims—30 of whom the FBI identifies as “celebrities”—to provide their passwords.

Using this information, Majercyzk was able to obtain highly personal information, including private photographs and videos. He now faces up to five years in prison.


He is the second person to be charged over the so-called “Celebgate” incident of 2014, in which users of the websites Reddit and 4Chan posted nude photos of famous figures from Hollywood. A 36-year-old man from Pennsylvania, Ryan Collins, likewise pled guilty in March.

Source Forbes