Celebrity photo ‘ hack’ probe begins

The FBI and Apple were urgently investigating on Monday after an apparent massive hack of a cloud data service unleashed a torrent of intimate pictures of dozens of celebrities across the Internet.

Anonymous posters to online message boards boasted of having nude images of scores of female stars including Oscar- winner Jennifer Lawrence and top model Kate Upton. Reports suggested hackers had “ripped” private images from Apple’s iCloud online data storage, a potentially embarrassing and damaging breach for the California tech giant.

“We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report,” said Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris. The FBI has also joined the hunt. “The FBI is aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals,” the Los Angeles Times reported.