200,000 Snapchat Photos Stolen, To Be Leaked Onto Same Website From Nude Celeb Hack '4chan'
(CBS SF) -- First it was celebrities, now hundreds of thousands of nude photos from regular folks are reportedly set to be released online.
Hackers have intercepted around 200,000 private photos sent using the photo messaging app Snapchat on Thursday.
UPDATE:
Snapsaved App Takes Responsibility For Snapchat Hack Of Thousands Of Private Photos
Hackers Release 13 Gigabytes Of 'Deleted' Snapchat Photos
Nearly 13GB of videos and photos are now circulating through 4chan, the same message board responsible for posting the first nude celebrity photos in the Apple iCloud hack last month, according to Business Insider.
4chan users are warning the photos will be leaked online in a database that's searchable by Snapchat username. It's already being dubbed as "The Snappening," and could be bigger than the hacks that targeted celebrities.
Snapchat, created by three Stanford students, has had some security problems before. But now, the fault appears to be with a third-party app such as Snapsave or SnapKeep, which have been cataloging every snap that users thought had been deleted. Snapchat explained in a tweet Friday morning:
Snapchat lets a sender know if the recipient screenshots a photo, but not if they use a third-party app, which can save a photo without the sender's knowledge.
Android app SnapSave works by completely replacing the Snapchat app so users can save snaps from senders. SnapSave spokesman Georgie Casey told Engadget, "Our app had nothing to do with it and we've never logged username/passwords." He also says that Snapsave doesn't run on a cloud setup.
About 50 percent of Snapchat's users are between the age of 13-17, making it likely that some of the images released constitute as child pornography. Possession and distribution of the photos could lead to prison time.
Several 4chan thread warns that about 200,000 snaps are set to be released in the next couple of days.
PROTECT YOUR PICS: Your phone might be uploading every photo you take
ON TWITTER: Celebrities Rage, Claim Photos Fake; Ricky Gervais Jokes Via Tweet
