Nude photographs of Oscar-winning actor Jennifer Lawrence and several other celebrities have been leaked online, exposing the vulnerabilities of online storage.
The pictures of Lawrence and over 100 other celebrities, which show them partially nude or completely naked, were posted by a hacker on image-sharing site 4Chan on Sunday, Aug. 31, evening. The images then viral on social media sites.
It is believed, that the unknown hacker managed to gain access into over 100 celebrities' iCloud accounts and smartphones, tapping the vulnerability in the online storage system to get to the images.
The "master list" of celebrities whose images have been hacked also include Kim Kardashian, Kirsten Dunst, Rihanna, Scarlett Johansson, Selena Gomez, Hillary Duff, Mary Kate Olsen, Alisson Brie, Mary E. Winstead and more.
Speaking on the violation, Lawrence's representative revealed that authorities had been contacted and would "prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence."
An outraged Mary Winstead denounced the hacking on Twitter.
"To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves," tweeted Winstead.
Several fans also took to Twitter to show their support for Lawrence under the hashtag #JenniferLawrenceWeSupportYou.
"What a disgusting invasion of privacy & shame on the 'news' websites who are sharing her PRIVATE images," tweeted a user.
There were others who resorted to humor in support of the Hollywood star,
"Just saw this leaked photo of Jennifer Lawrence. Can't see what all the fuss is about," tweeted another supporter.
However, the authenticity of the hacked images remains questionable as some celebrities like Ariana Grande and Victoria Justice have denied that the leaked photos were genuine.
"These so called nudes of me are FAKE people. Let me nip this in the bud right now. *pun intended*," tweeted Justice.
For its part, Twitter has suspended all accounts that posted nude images of Jennifer Lawrence.
