Hollywood leaks - could you be the next victim?
Entertainment & media
Comment | 10 October 2011
Are you connected to the entertainment industry? If so, your private life may be at more risk of public exposure than ever before.
Hollywood Leaks, an off-shoot group of the hacktivists “Anonymous” (who hacked companies like News International), is focusing its attention on high-profile individuals and celebrities. They see themselves as a form of “Wikileaks to the stars”.
Hollywood Leaks has already published information like the telephone numbers of Miley Cyrus and the script of a Tom Cruise musical. They have hacked into phones to obtain personal photographs and other information and then made it available on well-known document sharing websites like Pirate Bay. Such websites still carry the private information – it took us less than 2 minutes to find the email address of one of the world’s most high profile actors. Thousands more Gmail email addresses are posted with clear instructions on how to hack into the accounts.
They have no motive other than to embarrass high-profile individuals (as well as studios and production companies) as much as they can – just for the fun of it. These hacktivists take the view that “A” List Celebrities, studios etc. are legitimate targets. The repercussions can be permanent.
Hollywood Leaks state “We’re currently sitting on several unreleased movie scripts, and enough numbers/emails to keep phones ringing and the inboxes full for the foreseeable future”. They are slowly drip-feeding the data online.
Members of the group have stated that high profile individuals are remarkably easy to hack. Their most common route to obtain such information? Correctly guessing the answers to weak security questions.
Preventative measures are available to minimise the risk of attack. Anyone looking after talent needs to be aware of these steps urgently.
