FBI arrests suspect over hacking Hollywood stars

LOS ANGELES—The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced Wednesday the arrest of a suspect over the alleged hacking of Hollywood celebrities including Scarlett Johansson and Christina Aguilera.

Scarlett Johansson AP FILE PHOTO

Christopher Chaney, 35, was arrested in Jacksonville, Florida as a result of an 11-month investigation into hacking involving celebrity victims also including the actress Mila Kunis, the FBI said in a statement.

Chaney faces up to 121 years in prison if convicted on 26 indictments, including accessing and damaging computers, wire tapping and identify theft. He used three aliases to carry out the attacks.

“While the case against Mr. Chaney involves celebrities who were targeted because of their fame, this case reminds us that we are all potential victims of computer hackers,” US Attorney Andre Birotte Jr said in the statement.

“Everyone can take simple steps that will help protect their computer system.”

The development came weeks after Johansson defended her right to privacy after her smartphone was hacked and someone posted semi-nude pictures of her on the Internet.

The pictures of Johansson, star of “The Horse Whisperer” and “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” appeared in mid-September and showed her in a state of undress in a home setting.

In one she was holding a towel round herself with her face to the camera, her unclothed rear view clearly visible in a mirror, while in the other she was topless.

In the first picture she was photographing herself with a smartphone camera, and appeared to be doing so in the second, on a bed.