Perhaps the creepiest aspect of the latest celebrity photo breach is that most experts believe this was not an isolated incident. They are now suggesting that it was a long-term effort, by multiple people, who collected and traded forbidden photos like baseball cards,
Despite assurances from Apple that their iCloud service has not been breached, malefactor(s) have managed to grab some very racy pictures of A-list female celebrities (and at least one unfortunate male, baseball star Justin Verlander, who's there mainly because of his connection to supermodel Kate Upton).
The uncensored photos were posted on reddit, which is a wonderful bulletin board for all kinds of discussions. However, it does have some corners that are kind of the armpit of the Internet. They were also up on 4chan — undoubtedly the smelly crotch of the online world.
So people went and ogled.
As you might expect, even badder guys got on this #Celebgate bandwagon, promising links to those juicy photos, but actually seeking to infect your computer with malware, then steal your identity or your soul or whatever.
Therefore, WARNING: Looking for naughty things on the Internet can easily cause your computer to become infected. Or worse.
For the rest of the post by EVDS Professor Tom Keenan in Psychology Today, click here.
Dr. Tom Keenan is a professor at EVDS. He will teach a one-day seminar on Technocreep: The Surrender of Privacy and the Capitalization of Intimacy, on Saturday, September 20. Learn more here: http://evds.ucalgary.ca/event/seminar-series-one-day-ucalgary
Image courtesy Creative Commons