Connecticut Man Sent to Prison for 2014 Celebrity iCloud Hack

iCloud AltConnecticut man George Garafano has been sentenced to eight months in prison for his role in the 2014 iCloud hacks that saw many celebrity photos illicitly shared on the internet.

Garafano was accused of hacking the iCloud accounts of more than 200 people over the course of 18 months, including multiple celebrities.

According to the Hartford Courant, a federal judge in Connecticut ordered the eight month prison term, which will be followed by three years of supervision after release.

Garafano in April pleaded guilty to sending phishing emails to his victims posing as a member of Apple's online security team to obtain usernames and passwords. During the case, prosecutors said he traded the photos that he stole with other hackers and may have sold some of them to earn extra income.

Prosecutors had argued that Garafano should serve 10 to 16 months in prison, while Garafano asked for a more lenient sentence of five months in prison followed by five months in home confinement.

Garafano, who was in college at the time, says he has already suffered for his role in the 2014 hacking event and has "cleaned up his act" since the hacking occurred.

There were a total of four people charged with breaking into the iCloud accounts of celebrities, including Ryan Collins, Edward Majerczyk, and Emilio Herrera, along with Garafano. The other hackers have already been sentenced to prison terms ranging from nine months to 18 months.

When hundreds of nude celebrity photos began leaking online in 2014, there was initial speculation that iCloud had been hacked, but following an investigation, Apple determined that the accounts had been compromised by weak passwords.

Apple has since made improvements to its iCloud security by adding two-factor authentication to iCloud.com, introducing email alerts when an iCloud account is accessed on the web, and requiring app-specific passwords for third-party apps that access iCloud.

Top Rated Comments

genovelle Avatar
73 months ago
Why is this called a hack when these people gave them their password. This is why anti-Apple people still try to blame Apple saying they were hacked and leaked the pictures.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ikir Avatar
73 months ago
anyway the title says “hack” but it was phishing

When hundreds of nude celebrity photos began leaking online in 2014, there was initial speculation that iCloud had been hacked, but following an investigation, Apple determined that the accounts had been compromised by weak passwords ('https://www.macrumors.com/2014/09/02/apple-no-celebrity-icloud-breach/').
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nwcs Avatar
73 months ago
Phishing and social engineering attacks will always succeed in some measure because people are always the weakest links in security.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
keysofanxiety Avatar
73 months ago
MR, please, this isn’t a hack. I know the title will get more visits, but if you use the same password for every account and answer every applelegit@maybenot.com email with your personal details, that’s phishing.

Hack implies Apple’s servers were compromised. There’s a big difference between that and people getting scammed.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Scottsoapbox Avatar
73 months ago
I feel like 8 months in prison is kind of harsh for getting dumb people to hand over a password.

And PSA for celebrities: don't store your naked pictures in the cloud.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
FFR Avatar
73 months ago
They never mention google or gmail.
Don’t know what’s up with that.

“Prosecutors said in court documents that between November 2012 and September 2014, Collins "knowingly, intentionally, and in furtherance of criminal and tortious acts" accessed at least 50 Apple iCloud accounts and about 72 Google Gmail accounts belonging to more than 100 people. “
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
iPhone Home Screen Gradient Blank Spaces 1

Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid

Sunday March 24, 2024 1:33 pm PDT by
iOS 18 will give iPhone users greater control over Home Screen app icon arrangement, according to sources familiar with the matter. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, to ensure there is some uniformity, our sources say that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18. For example, we expect that the update will introduce...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
iPad Pro 2024 Landscape Camera Feature

New iPad Pro Again Rumored to Feature Landscape Front-Facing Camera

Monday March 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
The next-generation iPad Pro will feature a landscape-oriented front-facing camera for the first time, according to the Apple leaker known as "Instant Digital." Instant Digital reiterated the design change earlier today on Weibo with a simple accompanying 2D image. The post reveals that the entire TrueDepth camera array will move to the right side of the device, while the microphone will...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
sonoma desktop wwdc

Apple Releases macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 With Fix for USB Hub Bug

Monday March 25, 2024 10:10 am PDT by
Apple today released macOS Sonoma 14.4.1, a minor update for the macOS Sonoma operating system that launched last September. macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 comes three weeks after macOS Sonoma 14.4. The ‌‌‌‌macOS Sonoma‌‌ 14.4‌.1 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible Macs using the Software Update section of System Settings. There's also a macOS 13.6.6 release for those who...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18 Will Finally Bring This Android Feature to iPhone

Monday March 25, 2024 6:42 am PDT by
iOS 18 will allow iPhone users to place app icons anywhere on the Home Screen grid, according to sources familiar with development of the software update. This basic feature has long been available on Android smartphones. While app icons will likely remain locked to an invisible grid system on the Home Screen, our sources said that users will be able to arrange icons more freely on iOS 18....
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...