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Hacker Who Leaked Scarlett Johansson Pics Gets 10 Years

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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A Florida man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for hacking into email accounts belonging to actresses Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis, singer Christina Aguilera, and other celebrities.

During a hearing yesterday in Los Angeles, U.S. District Judge S. James Otero sentenced Christopher Chaney to 120 months in prison and ordered him to pay $66,179 in restitution. Otero said Chaney's actions demonstrated a "callous disregard to the victims."

Chaney, a 36-year-old Jacksonville resident, stole nude photos, scripts, financial information, and other personal data from the email accounts of more than 50 celebrities. The judge yesterday heard a videotaped statement from an emotional Johansson, according to a report from the Associated Press.

"I have been truly humiliated and embarrassed," Johansson said, according to the AP. "I find Christopher Chaney's actions to be perverted and reprehensible."

Police in October arrested Chaney, who was charged with accessing protected computers without authorization, damaging protected computers without authorization, wiretapping, and aggravated identity theft. He previously pleaded guilty to charges of wiretapping and unauthorized access to a computer.

According to the indictment, Chaney used various online aliases and trolled the Web for personal information about the celebs he hacked. He used that information to access their email accounts, and often found new victims by perusing a celebrity's address book.

Prosecutors said Chaney altered the administrative settings on victims' accounts so that copies of their emails were forwarded to an account he set up, even after the victims changed their passwords. If he found anything newsworthy, like the naked photos of Johansson that made the rounds, he would offer to sell them to celebrity blogs.

In addition to the celebrity hacks, prosecutors said Chaney stalked two women he knew for more than 10 years, and sent nude photos of a former co-worker to her father. Chaney apologized in court, though he denied sending naked photos of a woman to her relatives.

After his release, Chaney will be placed on three years of supervised probation, and will have to notify officials of his online accounts.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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