Apple’s iCloud service may have been used to illegally access nude photos of actress and celebrities, an issue that could hurt the company's profile as it prepares to unveil its newest iPhone.
Hackers posted the nude photos on the image-sharing website 4chan, the Telegraph in London reported on Monday. The photos targeting more than 100 celebrities were allegedly obtained by breaking into iCloud accounts, the newspaper said.
The iCloud service lets users store contacts, e-mails, photos and other personal information on external systems they can access virtually. Apple has fixed a bug in its “Find My iPhone” software that may have allowed hackers to gain access to the celebrity iCloud accounts.
Apple said it is investigating the reports."We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report," Apple spokeswoman Nat Kerris said in a statement.
In addition, The FBI said on Monday it was addressing allegations, although it
did not say what actions it was taking to investigate who was responsible for posting naked photos of the stars.
The celebrity hack comes days before Apple’s scheduled Sept. 9 product announcement. The company will introduce bigger-display iPhones and a wearable device at the event.