"Operation Hackerazzi"

Read the article here.

Following a year long investigation dubbed as "Operation Hackerazzi" by the FBI, the Florida man that was arrested for hacking celebrity emails and posting their nude photographs on the Internet has agreed to plead guilty to nine felony counts.

The felony charges, which include wiretapping and unauthorized access to a computer, could land him up to 60 years in prison. Some of the more prominent celebrity victims included Christina Aguilera, Mila Kunis and Scarlett Johansson.

Overall, prosecutors say that the unemployed Florida man illegally entered the email accounts of more than 50 entertainment industry professionals and obtained the email addresses of fellow stars from their contact lists.

The most frightening part of the scandal, for me at least, is how he managed to weasel his way into the accounts, though. He didn't need any extensive hacking skills or programs; all he had to do was search through publicly available data to figure out password and security questions for the celebrity accounts.

Obviously, celebrities should be much more careful with the amount and quality of information they disclose to the public on mass media outlets. But the issue I want to bring up is the question of whether the photographs should have even been taken in the first place or not.

I'm not by any means saying that the hacked celebrities were to blame or that what the hacker did was anything less than 100% wrong. My point is simply that the whole thing could have been avoided if the celebrities were smart enough to not take nude photos.

Johannson told Associated Press that the photographs were taken for her now ex-husband, Ryan Reynolds. But once something is published into a media document and stored in a hidden file or folder for 'safe-keeping' it's like a sitting duck that's always just a milli-second away from going viral... no matter how safe we think it is.

Why take a chance when the costs could have such devastating effects? In my opinion, nude photographs are irresponsible in any circumstance, even if you've been happily married to the recipient for 30 years. I think Skype is a much safer, less-permanent alternative for couples. Plus, nobody wants those skeletons in their closet after a nasty divorce.