Two of America’s most daring celebrities were among those whose private photographs were recently hacked and leaked online. Pop singer Miley Cyrus and actress Kristen Stewart, along with other celebrities, including Tiger Woods, Stella Maxwell, Katharine McPhee and Lindsey Vonn (an Olympic skier) were among the latest victims of the hack.
The explicit photographs were posted on an internet porn site Celeb Jihad. To date, the legal counsels of some of the involved stars have moved to get the images taken down. Time and again, many celebrities have felt violated, experiencing mixed feelings of distress, fear, embarrassment, and insecurity when they are targeted.
Previous hacking incidents
It is not the first time Cyrus became the victim of a hacking scandal. In August 2014, a similar hacking incident occurred. It happened at a time when the “Malibu” singer seemed to be turning a new leaf and showing contentment in her life. Miley Cyrus was trying to reinvent herself and opted to be with people who encourage her to be a better person.
Hollywood A-lister Kristen Stewart and girlfriend Stella Maxwell’s intimate snaps were also published on the adult entertainment website. The celebrity lovers have often been spotted in gatherings and casual places.
In the past, private images of various other celebrities, including Jennifer Lawrence, were leaked online, following similar intrusive attacks on Emma Watson and Amanda Seyfried.
After being posted on an image board, the nude photos of the stars wended their way to social networking sites and websites.
With the recent incidents, fans took to Twitter to decry the invasion of celebrities’ Private Lives. According to NME, the legal counsels of the affected stars immediately notified the websites concerned that appropriate legal action will be taken against them for illegally publishing the intimate photos.
Connecting the dots
The spate of hacking incidents has led people to wonder if there is any link to the previous nude celebrity leakage of photos and the recent occurrence. The hacking incidents have been referred to as the Fappenning of 2014, the Fappening 2.0 of March 2017, the recent Fappening 2.1 and the Fappening 3.0.
Previous Fappening occurrences uncovered a culprit who used phishing to get stars’ private photographs. He was subsequently arrested. Such hacking incidents underscore the importance of undertaking steps to heighten data security.
