The Fappening: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

More than 100 celebrities including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and Kaley Cuoco have had their nude and intimate pictures leaked online by an anonymous 4Chan hacker.

The Daily Mirror reports that in total, up to 423 celebs may have been hacked.

The event has been dubbed The Fappening, a reference to a term the Urban Dictionary describes as “the onomatopoeic representation of masturbation.”

Some of the pics are here on Reddit.

Here’s what you need to know about the scandal, the celebs involved and how hackers can access your private pictures:

---

1. Jennifer Lawrence Is Out for Revenge

Reps for Jennifer Lawrence were quick to confirm that the pics were indeed real.

The spokesperson also said that anybody who publishes the photos will be prosecuted. On August 31, a statement for Lawrence read:

This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence.

The Associated Press reports that Lawrence has gone to the authorities to demand a full investigation. The FBI is “addressing” the hack, according to CBS.

TMZ reports Kate Upton has also vowed revenge.

On the other hand, singer Ariana Grande said that the images of her were faked. As did Nickelodeon star Victoria Justice:

These so called nudes of me are FAKE people. Let me nip this in the bud right now. *pun intended*

— Victoria Justice (@VictoriaJustice) August 31, 2014

Read about the man who denies being the hacker behind the leak:

---

2. These 101 Celebrities Were Affected

These are the names that were posted by the user “Anonymous” on 4Chan at 3 p.m. on August 31. The user claimed to have intimate and nude of photos of all of these celebrities.

AJ Michalka

Alyson ‘Aly’ Michalka

Allegra Carpenter

Abigail Spencer

Alana Blanchard

Alexa Jane

Angelina McCoy

Anna O’Neill

Ashley Blankenship

Aubrey Plaza

Abigail ‘Abby’ Elliott

AnnaLynne McCord

Avril Lavigne

Amber Heard

Rebecca ‘Becca’ Tobin

Brie Larson

Brittany Booker

Candace Smith

Candice Swanepoel

Cara Delevingne

Carley Pope

Carmella Carcia

Carrie Michalka

Cat Deeley

Carly Foulkes

Chloe Dykstra

Clare Bowen

Dove Cameron

Elena Satine

Elle Evans

Ellenore Scott

Emily Browning

Emily DiDonato

Emily Ratajkowski

Erin Cummings

Erin Heatherton

Farrah Abraham

Gabrielle Union

Gabi Grecko

Hayden Panettiere

Hope Solo

Heather Marks

Hilary Duff

Jacqueline Dunford

Janelle Ginestra

Jennifer Lawrence

Jessiqa Pace

Jessica Dunford

Jessica Riccardi

Jesse Golden

JoJo, American singer

Joanna Krupa

Jennifer ‘Jenny’ McCarthy

Josie Loren

Joy Corrigan

Kaley Cuoco

Kaime O’Teter

Kate Upton

Kate Bosworth

Kelly Brook

Lauren ‘Keke’ Palmer

Kim West

Kirsten Dunst

Krysten Ritter

Lake Bell

Laura Ramsey

Lea Michele

Leelee Sobieski

Leven Rambin

Lisa Kelly

Lisalla Montenegro

Lindsay Clubine

Lizzy Caplan

Mary-Kate Olsen

Mary Elizabeth Winstead

McKayla Maroney

Melissa Benoist

Meagan Good

Megan Boone

Michelle Keegan

Mikayla Pierce

Misty Treanor

Nina Stavris

Rachel Nichols

Rihanna

Sarah Shahi

Sahara Ray

Sarah Schneider

ScarJo (Scarlett Johansson)

Selena Gomez

Shannon McNally

Tameka Jacobs

Teresa Palmer

Uldouz

Vanessa Hudgens

Victoria Justice

Wailana Geisen

Winona Ryder

Yvonne Strahovski

Alison Brie and Dave Franco

Protect your naked selfies from getting hacked

---

3. It’s Believed the Hacker(s) Got Access to Celebs’ iClouds

The most prevalent theory right now is that whoever the hacker is, the creep most likely got access to the celebs’ iClouds. Users on 4Chan, where the images first appeared, are in agreement that’s how the pics were leaked. Some other theories abound that the pics may have come from celeb’s angry exes, but due to the sheer volume of pics, that seems unlikely.

Twitter has been working to close accounts that post links to or publish the controversial pics. A software-engineer named Bryan Hamade has been named by Reddit users as the man behind the leak. In an interview with Buzzfeed, Hamade said that he wasn’t the hacker and he posted the pics as a way of making money through Bitcoin.

How hackers can access your iCloud through a vulnerability in Find My iPhone

---

4. Perez Hilton Had to Apologize for Posting Lawrence’s Photos

Celeb blogger Perez Hilton was one of the few mainstream publishers to post the nude pics of Jennifer Lawrence. He later took them down and apologized to her.

I acted in haste just to get the post up and didn’t really think things through. I’m sorry.

— Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton) August 31, 2014

No, I haven’t been forced to do so or been contacted by their reps, but I am removing those uncensored photos of JLaw and Victoria Justice.

— Perez Hilton (@PerezHilton) August 31, 2014

Is the cloud the worst place to store your photos?

---

5. 4Chan Allows Users to Post Images Anonymously

4Chan is described as an “imageboard website.” Its users generally post pics anonymously. Not only is registration not required, it’s not possible, making it unique among social forums. You can watch a video of some of the most controversial posts on the site above.

The Guardian described the site as “lunatic, juvenile … brilliant, ridiculous and alarming.” The network was set up by Christopher Poole, a 15-year-old from New York City, in 2003. Poole posts on 4Chan under the screen name “moot.”

The website has attracted plenty of criticism, to the extent that AT&T and Verizon both blocked access to the site through their networks in 2010.

In addition to the criticisms the site has face, its users are credited with the explosion of MEMEs and Rick Rolling, as well as other online phenomenons.