More Details Emerge On The "Celebgate" Chicago Connection

By Jim Bochnowski in News on Jun 10, 2015 9:45PM

Dimitrios Kambouris for Getty Images Entertainment

Additional details have started filtering in about the investigation into the "Celebgate" hacking scandal's connection to Chicago.

The scandal, which involved the hacking of celebrities' private iCloud accounts, was recently shown to have originated from an IP address on Chicago's South Side. While the investigation was originally reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, more information has come to light as recently unsealed court documents have been made publicly available.

The FBI recently confirmed to the Hollywood Reporter that it is investigating a Chicago resident in relation to the leaks and that the investigation is ongoing.

The full affidavit, publicly available on Buzzfeed, provides even more information.

Perhaps most importantly, the document states that the phishing emails came from an address registered to one "Emilio Herrera," who lived in the house raided by the FBI with his family. The FBI would not respond to a Buzzfeed inquiry into whether or not Herrera is a suspect, but they said he has not been formally charged with any crime.

The document alleges that the celebrities' personal information was obtained using a "phishing" attack, where a third party sends an email from a fraudulent address, seeking the user's private information. The affidavit also describes the use of software that can download any user's information off of an iCloud account as long as an individual has a username and password.

The affidavit also alleges that some celebrities reported getting locked out of their accounts in April and May of 2014, months before the pictures became widely available beginning in August of 2014. In fact, the document suggests that the hacks may have occurred as far back as May 2013.