by Liam Datwani
While personal privacy is an expected right, advancing technology has made it harder to preserve. Privacy issues have recently revolved around government spying. However, hackers are now more prevalent than most people believe.
These hackers steal more information than the government ever could, but often without public outcry. They break into people’s private devices and accounts to steal photos and valuable information.
The most recent international incident was the release of nude photos of over a hundred American and British celebrities, both male and female. The photos were stolen directly from iCloud accounts over several months by a group of hackers led by someone using the screen name “OriginalGuy.”
The release of photos belonging to celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Victoria Justice and Kate Upton has sparked much controversy, mainly focusing on the invasion of personal privacy. But it also illustrates how vulnerable people are when they use online storage.
While the content of the leak is questionable, there is nothing morally wrong with the celebrities having personal photos of themselves for their own use. Celebrities are often held to a higher standard than others and it is more of a loss when their image is damaged. However, the blame here does not lie with them.
The celebrities were victims of theft, as private material was taken from a supposedly secure system. In fact, iCloud is where all photos from Apple devices are stored, so they can be accessed from any Apple device. These celebrities trusted the same service that millions of American people use, yet they suffered worse consequences.
The hackers will likely remain faceless, even though they deserve to be caught. If there is any lesson to learn from this it is that people have to be cautious about what they put into online storage, and to remember that just because something is private does not mean it is completely protected. At the same time, in the wake of the disclosure of such personal material, victim-blaming is not the answer.
While personal privacy is an expected right, advancing technology has made it harder to preserve. Privacy issues have recently revolved around government spying. However, hackers are now more prevalent than most people believe.
These hackers steal more information than the government ever could, but often without public outcry. They break into people’s private devices and accounts to steal photos and valuable information.
The most recent international incident was the release of nude photos of over a hundred American and British celebrities, both male and female. The photos were stolen directly from iCloud accounts over several months by a group of hackers led by someone using the screen name “OriginalGuy.”
The release of photos belonging to celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Victoria Justice and Kate Upton has sparked much controversy, mainly focusing on the invasion of personal privacy. But it also illustrates how vulnerable people are when they use online storage.
While the content of the leak is questionable, there is nothing morally wrong with the celebrities having personal photos of themselves for their own use. Celebrities are often held to a higher standard than others and it is more of a loss when their image is damaged. However, the blame here does not lie with them.
The celebrities were victims of theft, as private material was taken from a supposedly secure system. In fact, iCloud is where all photos from Apple devices are stored, so they can be accessed from any Apple device. These celebrities trusted the same service that millions of American people use, yet they suffered worse consequences.
The hackers will likely remain faceless, even though they deserve to be caught. If there is any lesson to learn from this it is that people have to be cautious about what they put into online storage, and to remember that just because something is private does not mean it is completely protected. At the same time, in the wake of the disclosure of such personal material, victim-blaming is not the answer.