The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reportedly getting involved after naked pictures were leaked of Jennifer Lawrence, Ariana Grande, and Victoria Justice.
The FBI and Apple are working to address the matter in what is considered one of the biggest celebrity privacy breaches in history, NBC reported. Over the Labor Day weekend, racy photos of several female stars were stolen from online file storage and posted online without their permission.
"The FBI is aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals, and is addressing the matter," said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller on Monday, according to NBC News. "Any further comment would be inappropriate at this time."
A representative for Apple, which operates the online file storage service iCloud, reaffirmed that the company is looking into the matter. "We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report," said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris.
The FBI did not mention what actions will be taken in the investigation, or if they have a suspect in the case. In 2012, a man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for hacking celebrity accounts and posting their private pictures online.
"This is a flagrant violation of privacy," Lawrence's publicist, Liz Mahoney, wrote in a statement, according to TMZ. "The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence."
Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, one of the victims of the alleged hacking, responded to the leak 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," she wrote Sunday night. "Knowing those photos were deleted long ago, I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked," she added.
It is still unclear if all of the pictures are authentic. Several of the victims have stated that the pictures are fake. However, a representative for model Kate Upton confirmed that the pictures are real and threatens to "pursue" legal action against internet users trying to share the photos.
"This is obviously an outrageous violation of our client Kate Upton's privacy," the rep told Buzz. "We intend to pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest extent possible."
Kirsten Dunst called out iCloud in a Twitter post and sarcastically wrote, "Thank you iCloud."
