FBI Arrests Man Who Allegedly Hacked Celebrities to Steal Nude Photos

wired


Federal authorities have arrested and charged a 35-year old Florida man for allegedly hacking dozens of Hollywood celebrities, including breaking into Scarlett Johansson’s phone and leaking nude pictures of her to the internet.

Christopher Chaney of Jacksonville, Florida, was charged with 26 counts of accessing protected computers without authorization, identity theft, damaging protected computers without authorization, and wiretapping.

Other prominent victims included Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis, Simone Harouche and Renee Olstead. The FBI says Chaney hacked into the accounts of more than 50 people in the entertainment industry.

The FBI says Chaney used publicly available data about his victims to help him break into their e-mail accounts. For most victims he would then secretly set a forwarding address so every incoming e-mail would be forwarded to an account he controlled.

Chaney allegedly broke into Johansson’s Yahoo account in December 2010, just a month after he’d gotten into Harouche and Augilera’s accounts at Apple’s Me.com email service.

Photos that Johansson took of herself in the nude appeared online in early September, as did photos showing Kunis and Justin Timberlake in intimate settings. Chaney allegedly offered the photos to celebrity-focused blogs, though the indictment doesn’t say if Chaney attempted to sell the photos.

More...

5-year-old girl finds hidden camera in a D.C. Starbucks bathroom

dailymail.co.uk

A five-year-old girl walked out of Starbucks with more than just a hot chocolate after having discovered a hidden camera in the coffee shop's unisex bathroom.

The girl's family is now suing the coffee chain for damages after she and her father were taped while using the toilet in a D.C. Starbucks.

William Yockey and his family were visiting the capital in late August from their home in Norfolk, Virginia.

His daughter discovered a video camera hidden underneath the sink that was pointed towards the toilet. Yockey determined that the camera was on and recording, then notified the police.

The camera was taken by police for further investigation, and no suspects have been named.

Because so little is known about the camera- including who put it there and when- this lawsuit could theoretically be opened up to include anyone else who used the restroom at that Starbucks.

The lawsuit, which will be heard in D.C. Superior Court, claims that the daughter suffered 'permanent and continuing emotional pain and suffering, humiliation, embarrassment and great emotional distress'

More...

Julian Assange faces arrest in Australia over unredacted WikiLeaks cables

guardian.co.uk



Julian Assange could face prosecution in Australia after publishing sensitive information about government officials amongst the 251,000 unredacted cables released this week.

WikiLeaks published its entire cache of US diplomatic cables without redactions to protect those named within, a move condemned by all five of the whistleblowing website's original media partners.

Australia's attorney general, Robert McClelland, confirmed in a statement on Friday that the new cable release identified at least one individual within the country's intelligence service. He added it is a criminal offence in the country to publish any information which could lead to the identification of an intelligence officer.

"I am aware of at least one cable in which an ASIO officer is purported to have been identified," he said. "ASIO and other Government agencies officers are working through the material to see the extent of the impact on Australian interests.

More...

UTC Student Arrested for Planting Cameras in Rooms

newschannel9.com

A UTC student was arrested for more than a dozen felonies because police said he was breaking into girl's apartments and installing hidden cameras.

This is the second time 23-year-old Bernard V. Morris finds himself in trouble on charges related to stalking women. Three years ago we reported he was under a $1.2-million bond because Judge Bob Meeks thought he was a threat to women. Morris served less than a year in prison in 2007 for stalking and setting at least one house on fire.

Now a chilling story is unfolding on the UTC campus. Morris is back in jail on 12 counts of aggravated burglary and one count of aggravated arson.

UTC police said Morris set up secret cameras and microphones inside several girl's dorms in the the Stophel and Guerry Apartments.

Records show the female students who live there told UTC police when they came back from spring break Sunday night they noticed things were not quite right with their clocks, radios and even a decorative snow globe. When officers inspected the items they found tiny, hidden cameras inside them.

More...

Jury Awards $476,200 Against IRS Agent for Serially Spying on Female Tenant

stockmarketsreview.com
Landlord has to pay $476,200 for spying on his young female tenants by means of a micro video camera hidden in a DVD player he provided with the rental.

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL, January 18, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On January 13, 2011, a jury awarded damages of $476,200.00 against Kenneth Wayne Ryals, a landlord who had serially spied on his young female tenants by means of a micro video camera hidden in a DVD player he provided with the rental. Mr. Ryals, who is an Internal Revenue Service agent, had confessed to the Davie Police Department that he had watched Plaintiff for his viewing pleasure In response to discovery in the civil suit, Mr. Ryals repeatedly asserted his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Further, despite the pendency of the lawsuit, Mr. Ryals willfully destroyed all the physical evidence in the case, eleven pieces of electronic equipment, including the spy cam that he had hidden in the plaintiffs bedroom.

More...

Women were taped while disrobing

wavy.com

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Two women who say they were taped by hidden cameras as they undressed at a southwestern Pennsylvania tanning salon have filed a federal lawsuit against the business and its owner.

According to the suit filed Monday, one of the women learned of the tapings in July when she discovered video of her disrobing at Sunkissed Tanning and Spa had been uploaded to pornographic websites.

The suit claims other women were also taped in various states of undress through a hole in the ceiling of the East Huntingdon tanning salon between 2005 and 2007.

More...

WikiLeaks 'surprised' by scale of US espionage

cnn.com

(CNN) -- WikiLeaks, the whistle-blower website sitting on a giant trove of U.S. diplomatic cables, didn't expect the papers to reveal as much espionage as they apparently do, a spokesman said Monday.

"I was surprised at (the) extent of the spying," Kristinn Hrafnsson told CNN.

The leaked papers include what seems to be an order from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to American diplomats to engage in intelligence-gathering.

Clinton directed her envoys at embassies around the world to collect information ranging from basic biographical data on diplomats to their frequent flyer and credit card numbers, and even "biometric information on ranking North Korean diplomats."

Typical biometric information includes fingerprints, signatures, and iris recognition data.

The cable, simply signed 'CLINTON', is classified S/NF - or 'Secret/No Foreign' - and was sent to 33 embassies and the U.N. mission offices in New York, Vienna, and Rome.

More...

Mass. seminarian accused of secretly taping woman

boston.com
HAMILTON, Mass.—A student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary has been charged with secretly videotaping a female student in her dorm room.

Daniel G. Richards was granted $1,000 bail after pleading not guilty at his arraignment Monday to breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and unlawful wiretapping. He was also ordered to have no contact with the alleged victim.

Prosecutors say police responded to the woman's dorm room in late July after she found a recording device. A subsequent investigation led to a search of the 24-year-old Richard's room in a different dorm and his car.

A spokesman for the seminary tells The Salem News that Richards had been suspended and is no longer living on campus.

More...

Erin Andrews files lawsuit against stalker, hotels

cnn.com

Sports reporter Erin Andrews has filed a lawsuit alleging the hotels where a peephole stalker secretly videotaped her were negligent, according to a statement from the law firm representing her.

The lawsuit also accuses Michael David Barrett, who has pleaded guilty to stalking the ESPN reporter, of invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

The suit, filed Thursday, alleges that Barrett received information from hotels when he called them to see if Andrews had made reservations to stay there.

"Not only did the hotels confirm that Ms. Andrews was intending to register as a guest, but they also released, without Ms. Andrews' consent, her room number. The hotels then provided Michael David Barrett a hotel room immediately adjacent to hers," the statement from law firm Greene, Broilett & Wheeler said.

Hotels named as defendants in the civil suit include Marriott International Inc. and Radisson Hotels International Inc. Representatives from those companies did not immediately return requests for comment.

More...

Official allegedly took lurid photos, bugged offices

boston.com
In stunning allegations that appalled residents and town leaders, authorities accused Town Administrator Kyle J. Keady yesterday of planting a video camera in the ceiling of the women’s restroom in Town Hall, secretly recording conversations in his office, and bugging his assistant and the town accountant.
Keady, a 46-year-old who has been town administrator for seven years, compiled “hundreds, perhaps thousands, of photo images’’ taken with hidden cameras, authorities said. Police said they seized hard drives from Keady’s home and office Monday that contained numerous “close-up photos of various body parts’’ of visitors to his office.

The lurid allegations came to light as Keady was arraigned in Ayer District Court on charges of illegal recording, illegal possession of a recording device, and video recording a person in a state of nudity. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

More...

"Creepy" Crime: Trying to Put Spying Eye on Ex

nbcdfw.com

A man broke into a Carrollton home on Tuesday and tried to secretly install hidden cameras to spy on his former wife and her current boyfriend, police said.

But his plan went awry when his former wife’s boyfriend returned home as he was installing the devices, said Carrollton police officer Dustin Bartram.

Pete Cuellar said he noticed a strange bag in his hallway and heard an intruder in a back room when he returned home at about noon from running errands.

"I yelled. I said, 'Who's in there?'” Cuellar said. “It got real quiet. I said, 'I'll be back in a minute.' And that's when I went out and started calling 911."

Officers arrived and arrested James Hebison, 51, of New Mexico, who was still inside Cuellar’s house.

Cuellar identified Hebison as his girlfriend’s former husband. He said they divorced about three years ago.

More...

Shoe Cam voyeur charges dropped

wishtv.com

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A man charged with videotaping up the skirts of girls and women at Castleton Square Mall is asking a judge to dismiss the charges. Prosecutors are calling David Delagrange a voyeur and have charged him with 10 counts of the crime along with four counts of attempted child exploitation and one misdemeanor count of resisting arrest.

But law experts say although secretly videotaping up people's skirts may seem very wrong to most, it's not a crime according to current state law.

David Delagrange was silent and sullen as he left his hearing despite the fact he was clearly one step closer to having most of his charges dismissed. One would think that would be cause for celebration, but Delegrange was in no mood to share his thoughts on the matter with me. He and his attorney were far more interested in finding a way to escape 24-Hour News 8's questions and camera.

More...

Note: Not a Crime?? Are you kidding me?? Can you say buy a clue!!! JDL

Erin Andrews peephole stalker lands in jail

reuters.com

Michael Barrett, 48, had pleaded guilty to stalking Andrews over an 18-month period and removing the peepholes from the doors of at least three different hotel rooms to shoot video of her naked on his mobile phone.

After a celebrity web site turned down buying the videos, Barrett posted 10 of them on the Internet, identifying the ESPN reporter as the victim.

Barrett was sentenced by a federal judge in Los Angeles on Monday and ordered to pay Andrews $7,366 in restitution.

Andrews, 31, told Monday's sentencing hearing that she still suffers fear, anxiety and public humiliation as a result of having been stalked. "I'm being victimized every day...and I did nothing to deserve it," Andrews said, adding the videos will likely always be on the Internet.

"I'm living public humiliation. It's my body that's on the Internet...He stalked me, he terrorized me -- this will never be over for me, and I don't want it to ever be over for you," she said, looking at Barrett.

More...

Nanny Cam Catches Alleged Babysitter Abuse On Tape

www.10tv.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A mother who ran a babysitting service out of her home was behind bars Friday, charged with child abuse.

Gianna Cochran was charged with felonies involving sexual and physical abuse of children between the ages of 8 months and 2-years-old, 10TV's Kevin Landers reported.

Police said the alleged crimes happened in an apartment last year and involved at least five children.

A parent of an alleged victim suspected something was wrong with his daughter and helped alert police, Landers reported.

"I kept telling my fianc that was something wrong because (my daughter) always come home crying you know, every time we left there she would ball," said the parent, who requested anonymity.

The parent said that it started when the girl's mother raised questions to the babysitter about their daughter's face.

"She saw blotchiness, red on her face and neck," the parent said. "And she wanted to know what's going on and she said she was just crying."

Their suspicions of alleged abuse were verified months later, when police knocked on their door with a video," Landers reported.

More...

Man arrested for secretly taping women, 14-year-old girl

www.khq.com
SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. - A Spokane man was arrested in the early morning hours of February 10 after admitting that he secretly taped women and a 14-year-old girl undressing inside a Spokane Valley home.

Tyler Plappert, 24, was arrested after one of his roommates returned home to find a VHS tape containing video of naked and semi-clothed women as well as a 14-year-old girl getting undressed inside one the home's bathrooms and a bedroom.

The roommate told authorities that she had heard stories of Plappert using a hidden camera in a bathroom vent in the past. Through the course of the investigation, a Spokane County Sheriff's deputy discovered a small round hole in the duct work in one the home's bathrooms. From the hallway outside of Plappert's room, the deputy also found what appeared to a mini camera.

More...

Student says school webcam spied on him at home

cnn.com

Pennsylvania parents are suing their son's school, alleging it watched him through his laptop's webcam while he was at home and unaware he was being observed.

Michael and Holly Robbins of Penn Valley are suing the Lower Merion School District, its board of directors and the superintendent. The parents allege the district unlawfully used its ability to access a webcam remotely on their son's district-issued laptop computer.

The lawsuit seeking class-action status was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The suit said that on November 11, an assistant principal at Harriton High School told the plaintiffs' son that he was caught engaging in "improper behavior" in his home and it was captured in an image via the webcam.

More...

BBC producer secretly filmed himself in bed with TV and radio presenters by hiding camera in smoke alarm

dailymail.co.uk
A womanizing BBC producer faces jail for secretly taping a series of sexual liaisons with more than ten lovers using a hidden camera in his bedroom.

Benjamin Wilkins hid the CCTV device in a smoke alarm to tape his amorous encounters with a succession of women that he lured back to his flat.

He was caught when his girlfriend – and mother of his child – discovered a box of
DVDs hidden in his loft and called the police.

The scandal has left former colleagues, friends and lovers shocked and disgusted by the actions of the ‘well-liked and trusted’ 36-year-old Wilkins.

Many of the women Wilkins seduced hold senior positions in television and
radio – both presenting and in production roles – but cannot be named for legal
reasons.

A BBC insider said: ‘None of these women would have agreed to having sex with him if they had known he was violating their privacy, taping them with a hidden camera. We are sickened.’

Wilkins also used another miniature camera to record his partners
when they went to use the bathroom at his former flat in Brixton, South London.

He was also found to have stored secret footage of his sexual encounters – which took place over three years – on a home computer.

More...