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A jargon-free guide to the celebrity nude-photo scandal and the shadowy Web sites behind it
Washington Post ^ | 09/02/2014 | By Caitlin Dewey

Posted on 09/02/2014 11:46:41 AM PDT by SeekAndFind

It’s a late entry, and a sad one, but the trove of stolen celebrity nudes that hit Reddit like a bomb over the weekend may just qualify as the Internet story of the summer. After all, it’s the perfect Internet scandal: sex, Bitcoin, shadowy hackers and long-reigning Internet darling Jennifer Lawrence.

And yet, the ongoing incident — which the FBI has said it’s investigating — is far more than a tawdry tabloid story. It also raises a lot of profoundly important issues about technology, security, privacy and power in the digital age. There are practical implications, as well: The leak is inspiring many inhabitants of the “cloud” — a club that, in all likelihood, you belong to — to take a second look at their security settings. Let’s parse the key questions.

What happened, in a nutshell?

Here’s the TL;DR version: On Sunday, a large cache of nude celebrity photos were uploaded to the anarchic message-board site 4Chan. It’s not entirely clear who uploaded the photos, or how many people were involved, but the images seem to have come from a loosely affiliated network of undeniably creepy dudes.

From 4Chan, the photos spread to Reddit. From Reddit, they moved to the rest of the Internet. Celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton have since confirmed that some of the photos are genuine. Which has left law enforcement, security experts and site moderators pondering what, exactly, they should do.

Which celebrities got hacked?

The cache purportedly includes photos of several dozen female celebrities, including Lawrence, Upton, Kirsten Dunst, Avril Lavigne, Lea Michele, McKayla Maroney and Ariana Grande. There are also some lesser marquee names in the mix, such as Jessica Brown-Findlay (“Downton Abbey’s” Lady Sybil) and Hope Solo (the U.S. women’s soccer star).

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Music/Entertainment; Society; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: nude; scandal; website
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To: chesley

No mirror and I still bathe in the dark

I’m just that ugly. lol


41 posted on 09/02/2014 1:33:05 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: Constitution Day
I have to admit i typically abhor and stay away from this type of scandal. Typically. Kate Upton being involved makes it painfully tempting.
42 posted on 09/02/2014 1:39:46 PM PDT by Hegewisch Dupa
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To: Durus
People were actually stupid enough to believe that.

...and a lot of people do things that I would never, ever do - such as bank and billpay online. NFW.

43 posted on 09/02/2014 1:49:44 PM PDT by ErnBatavia (It ain't a "hashtag"....it's a damn pound sign, number sign, or octothorpe. ###)
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To: brownsfan

The “cloud” is as secured as a client-side server.


44 posted on 09/02/2014 1:54:28 PM PDT by Solson (The Voters stole the election! And the establishment wants it back.)
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To: Vermont Lt

LOL!


45 posted on 09/02/2014 1:55:05 PM PDT by chesley
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To: GeronL

I can’t do the dark. My tail is ugly, but I don’t want to slip and break it.

I would write “LOL”, but that has nearly happened once or twice, and I’ve lost my humor about it.


46 posted on 09/02/2014 1:56:34 PM PDT by chesley
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To: SeekAndFind

How did they get the images?

This is the million-dollar question, and no one has a conclusive answer to it yet.

Well, people today are sex-obsessed and stupid and one bunch of these bananas found another bunch and viola!


47 posted on 09/02/2014 1:58:53 PM PDT by TalBlack (Evil doesn't have a day job.)
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To: SeekAndFind

...the images seem to have come from a loosely affiliated network of undeniably creepy dudes.

&&&
Yes, but they originated with some slutty women.


48 posted on 09/02/2014 2:05:20 PM PDT by Bigg Red (31 May 2014: Obamugabe officially declares the USA a vanquished subject of the Global Caliphate.)
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To: brownsfan
Those of us who work in IT and warned of potential “cloud” issues are smirking.

I am not (snicker!) smirking at (bahahahaha) all (snoooork!). I will say that whoever re-branded "outsourcing" as The Cloud was a genius.

49 posted on 09/02/2014 2:05:54 PM PDT by Billthedrill
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To: SeekAndFind

Bingo! And in their phones at that.


50 posted on 09/02/2014 2:06:43 PM PDT by Fledermaus (Conservatives are all that's left to defend the Constitution. Dems hate it, and Repubs don't care.)
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To: forgotten man

I posted my nude photos and no hits.

Next time I’ll air brush and then use photoshop for enhancements.


51 posted on 09/02/2014 2:10:42 PM PDT by morphing libertarian
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To: chesley

Last thing you’d want is a team of doctors and nurses staring at it.


52 posted on 09/02/2014 2:16:15 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: TalBlack

...and viola!

(((
Pretty sure no musical instruments were harmed in this incident. :)


53 posted on 09/02/2014 2:31:36 PM PDT by Bigg Red (31 May 2014: Obamugabe officially declares the USA a vanquished subject of the Global Caliphate.)
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To: Bigg Red

Pretty sure no musical instruments were harmed in this incident. :)

Hey, man, don’t loose your cool...


54 posted on 09/02/2014 2:39:07 PM PDT by TalBlack (Evil doesn't have a day job.)
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To: SeekAndFind

In my opinion what we are observing here is evidence of the “Casting Couch” that has been traditionally used by producers to extract favors from young actresses for a promise of a job for 100 years. The photos are made to use as a black mail device to keep the girl enslaved and in line. Remember the Jack Woltz character in “The Godfather” who complained that Johnny Fontaine ruined the best piece of ass he ever had with his Guinea charm. I suspect that these pics originated in the camera phone of a movie producer. More shoes will drop, I suspect.


55 posted on 09/02/2014 3:34:23 PM PDT by batterycommander
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To: Riverine

Maybe Californians are just short on...confidence.


56 posted on 09/02/2014 4:53:31 PM PDT by Fightin Whitey
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