A Connecticut man has been sentenced to eight months in prison for his participation in the 2014 iCloud hacks. George Garafano was accused of hacking the accounts of celebrities and other iCloud users over an 18 month period.
George Garofano, 26, was one of several hackers to admit involvement in the scheme, which leaked hundreds of intimate photos of female celebrities onto the internet.
According to the government, Garofano engaged in a phishing scheme that gave him illegal access to more than 200 Apple iCloud accounts. From April 2013 through October 2014, Garofano obtained usernames and passwords for iCloud accounts.
The defendant admitted that he had sent emails appearing to have come from security accounts at Apple, encouraging victims to email him their iCloud usernames and passwords, or to enter it on a third-party website where he could later access them.
He then used the information to access the victims’ iCloud accounts, where he was able to view and steal personal information, including photographs and videos. Garofano also traded the login information and materials retrieved via the hack with other individuals.
Garofano in April plead guilty to sending the phishing emails to victims. His eight month prison term will be followed by three years of supervision following his release.