Also known as the “Celebgate” scandal, the hackers attacked 250 Apple iCloud accounts belonging to a range of big-name Hollywood celebrities across the entertainment industry, including Jennifer Lawrence, Kim Kardashian, Kirsten Dunst, Kate Upton and many others.

A successful phishing scheme to steal the photos

The naked photos were illegally obtained via a successfully executed phishing scheme. Conducted from April 2013 to October 2014, Garofano pretended to be a security team member from Apple, tricking the celebrity victims into revealing their private iCloud credentials to him.

Once he possessed the credentials, it was a simple matter of accessing their online data and stealing his victims’ personal data, which included intimate photos and video content. He subsequently leaked these onto online forums like 4Chan.

It’s alleged that Garofano also traded the stolen iCloud credentials and the intimate images with other individuals, whereas this evidence could not be found against the other hackers involved.

A lighter sentence than hoped for

Prosecutors initially requested that Garofano receive a prison sentence of at least 10 – 16 months, accusing him of violating the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. However, a federal judge at the Bridgeport district court sentenced him to 8 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release instead.

Garofano is currently released on a $50,000 bond but will begin his prison sentence next month in October 2018. Additionally, he will be required to perform 60 hours of community service during the supervised release period.

The other three hackers involved in the scandal included Edward Majerczyk (28), Ryan Collins (36) and Emilio Herrera (32).

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