Celebgate hacker jailed over Jennifer Lawrence hack

Image source, PA

Image caption, At the time, Jennifer Lawrence called the hack equivalent to a sex crime

A man who hacked into the Apple iCloud accounts of Hollywood stars, including Jennifer Lawrence, has been sentenced to eight months in prison in the US.

The notorious Celebgate hack resulted in nude photos and videos of Lawrence and other celebrities stolen and posted online.

George Garofano was one of four people charged in the 2014 hacking scandal.

Three others have already been sentenced to terms of between nine and 18 months in prison.

Garofano, aged 26, had admitted accessing usernames and passwords by sending out emails in which he posed as a member of Apple's security team.

Other victims included Kirsten Dunst and Kate Upton as well as ordinary members of the public.

The prosecution wrote in a sentencing memo to the court: "Mr Garofano's offence was a serious one. He illegally hacked into his victims' online accounts, invaded their privacy, and stole their personal information, including private and intimate photos.

"He did not engage in this conduct on just one occasion. He engaged in this conduct 240 times over the course of 18 months."

A federal judge at the US district court in Bridgeport, Connecticut ordered that he be subject to supervised release for three years after his prison term.