Leaked celebrity photos sparks hacking fears

1 Sentyabr 2014 10:01 (UTC+04:00)

Leaked personal photos of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence have been branded a "flagrant violation of privacy" by her publicist, amid fears a host of other celebrities have also been targeted in a major hack attack.

The images first appeared on an online bulletin board before going viral, according to Buzzfeed. They allegedly surfaced due to an iCloud leak that allowed celebrities' phones to be hacked, Buzzfeed reported.

The hacker is claiming to have more than 60 photographs of Lawrence. A representative for the US actress confirmed the images are genuine.

"This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence," they said in an email to Buzzfeed.

A list of those who have allegedly been hacked has also appeared online, reported the website.

Containing more than 100 names, it includes Aubrey Plaza, Cat Deeley, Kelly Brook, Kim Kardashian, Michelle Keegan, and Rihanna.

The hacker claims to have a "full set" of photographs of US soccer star Hope Solo.

Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who was on the list, tweeted: "To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves."

In another post she said: "Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked."

But a spokesman for the singer Ariana Grande said photographs that claimed to show her are fake.

And the actress Victoria Justice also denied images purporting to show her are real.

She tweeted: "These so called nudes of me are FAKE people".