FBI Traces 'Celebgate' Nude Photo Hack To Chicago Home
CHICAGO (CBS) -- It's one of the biggest celebrity nude photo leaks ever and CBS 2 has learned the suspected hacker lives in Chicago.
The FBI has traced a computer to the South Side of Chicago. CBS 2's Mike Parker found the house in question.
FBI cyber investigators believe a brick bungalow in the Brighton Park neighborhood, where possibly four members of the same family live, may be connected to last year's so called "celebgate" scandal.
Celebrity nude photos and videos that had been sent by iPhones to the internet bank called "the cloud" were being grabbed by hackers and made public.
The story was a sensation.
Last October, we've learned, based on an FBI affidavit, agents staged a raid at the bungalow. A neighbor says she heard them shout, "FBI! Open the door."
They hauled out files and computers, but there have been no arrests yet. The affidavit says only that "someone in that house" is believed involved. There was no one there Tuesday.
"All they can probably can trace it to is the particular computer, not who exactly was the person who was the person that was using it," said Governors State Professor William Kresse.
Among the victims: actresses Olivia Wilde, Anna Kendrick, Amber Heard and Jennifer Lawrence, who reportedly broke down when being interviewed by the FBI.
"Don't store dirty pictures on the cloud," said Kresse. "You're just setting yourself up for a problem."
Experts say the cloud is hackable by using what's called the "brute force" technique of discovering passwords.
The hacker can set his equipment to quickly try an unlimited number of possible passwords until bingo: they're into the account.
