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FBI ‘addressing’ leak of celebrity nude photos, Apple says iCloud not breached

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Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence has contacted authorities to investigate who stole and posted nude images of her online, a spokeswoman said Monday, part of a reported mass hacking of celebrities’ intimate photos.

Online pictures of the actress, 24, who won an Academy Award for “Silver Linings Playbook” and stars in “The Hunger Games” movie franchise, began appearing Sunday. The source of the hack was unclear.

Images purporting to be of dozens of other female actresses, models and athletes were also posted. The authenticity of many could not be confirmed.

“This is a flagrant violation of privacy. The authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence,” spokeswoman Liz Mahoney said in an emailed statement. She did not say who was contacted.

A spokesman for the FBI said the agency “is aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high-profile individuals, and is addressing the matter.”

Model Kate Upton was among celebrities whose photos were posted online. Her lawyer, Lawrence Shire, called them “an outrageous violation” of her privacy.

“We intend to pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest extent possible,” he said in a statement.

The photos were posted on the image-sharing forum 4chan. Britain’s Mirror website quoted the anonymous uploader as saying on the site he or she was a collector, not the hacker.

The uploader said the photos had generated $120 in bitcoin, a digital currency, but added: “I really didn’t get close to what I was hoping.”

Apple said that certain accounts were compromised via a “very targeted attack” on its services — but that neither iCloud nor Find My iPhone were breached — and that the company was working with law enforcement officials to track down the individuals responsible for the incident.

“When we learned of the theft, we were outraged and immediately mobilized Apple’s engineers to discover the source,” Apple said in a statement. “Our customers’ privacy and security are of utmost importance to us.”

Apple said that after more than 40 hours of investigation, “we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the Internet.” The Cupertino, Calif.-based tech giant insisted that the cases did not represent a “breach” of any Apple system, including iCloud or Find My iPhone.

Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead said on Twitter that nude photos of her were also posted online. She said the photos had long been deleted.

“I can only imagine the creepy effort that went into this. Feeling for everyone who got hacked,” said Winstead, who starred in “Smashed” and “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.”

“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.

Ariana Grande’s people told Billboard that pictures of the former Nickelodeon star were fake, while actress Victoria Justice tweeted the same about alleged shots of herself.

Reuters, Variety and Los Angeles Times contributed.