Hackers breach Taylor Swift Twitter, Instagram; threaten to release ‘nudes’ | Inquirer Entertainment

Hackers breach Taylor Swift Twitter, Instagram; threaten to release ‘nudes’

/ 09:40 AM January 28, 2015

Taylor Swift

In this December 31, 2014 file photo, US singer Taylor Swift performs during New Yearís Eve celebrations at the Times Square in New York. Taylor Swift on January 27, 2015 scoffed at a hacker who took over her social media accounts and threatened to release nude pictures, with the pop star saying none existed. AFP FILE PHOTO

NEW YORK, United States – Taylor Swift on Tuesday scoffed at a hacker who took over her social media accounts and threatened to release nude pictures, with the pop star saying none existed.

The singer’s Twitter and Instagram accounts were briefly seized by at least one hacker who vowed to release naked pictures of Swift if supporters paid enough in the form of the virtual currency bitcoin.

Article continues after this advertisement

“Any hackers saying they have ‘nudes’?” Swift wrote after retaking control of her Twitter account. “Psssh you’d love that wouldn’t you! Have fun photoshopping cause you got NOTHING.”

FEATURED STORIES

Little was known about the presumed hacker, whose account was suspended by Twitter. The user who threatened to release nude photos had the Twitter handle @lizzard and signed as lizard in Japanese.

@lizzard, in a Twitter biography before the account was suspended, claimed — incongruously — to be affiliated at once with the Islamic State extremist group, the hactivist collective Anonymous and North Korea.

Article continues after this advertisement

Swift joked about the hacking, writing, “This is why I’m scared of technology.”

Article continues after this advertisement

Swift, whose “1989” was by far the best-selling US album released last year, famously pulled all of her music from Spotify as she said that the streaming service insufficiently compensated artists, charges denied by the Swedish company.

Article continues after this advertisement

But Swift is intensively active on other parts of the Internet. She is one of only four people with more than 50 million followers on Twitter. The others are US President Barack Obama and fellow pop stars Katy Perry and Justin Bieber.

RELATED STORIES

Article continues after this advertisement

Video of Taylor Swift personally sending gifts to fans go viral

Taylor Swift: Growing up and going pop

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

TAGS: hackers, Hacking, Instagram, Social Media, Taylor Swift, Twitter

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our newsletter!

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

© Copyright 1997-2024 INQUIRER.net | All Rights Reserved

This is an information message

We use cookies to enhance your experience. By continuing, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more here.