I’m stupid because:
Anyone with half a brain knows that any electronic device is hackable. iCloud is not a locked box in my bedroom, it is a public forum with password protection that can be hacked at any point. I should not put highly personal information or images in a public forum, especially one I do not control. Frankly I’m a dumb broad because where are all the men’s nudey pictures? Durr!
No, I’m a victim because:
I was given the impression by a trusted company that my iCloud account was secure. If they had broken into my home and stolen my pictures would you still be saying that I’m stupid? They are MY pictures and no one has a right to use them without my permission, end of. Durr back!
School Me People!
I’m sure by now we have all heard about several female celebrity’s iCloud accounts being hacked and highly sensitive and personal images and film have been stolen and disseminated around the web for all to see and without permission of course. Jennifer Lawrence and Kate Upton are just two of a fairly generous list of names. There are 2 sides of an argument emerging as depicted above. I see both sides…kinda…sorta, but I can’t help leaning more to one of them…
What say you?
THE EDITOR'S JOURNAL 
Victim-blaming is never helpful – but that isn’t the same as giving people advice on how they can reduce their chances of becoming a victim. And that goes for more than just photos!
Excellent remark! Separate the lesson that should be learnt away from the victim blaming which is always easier (and sometimes more fun) to do.
I agree that they are stupid. But I use them term stupid lightly. Being stupid isn’t equivalent to being a complete moron.
I do think that while being hacked and exposed was morally wrong, they aren’t special victims. Children get exposed more often and if there’s an outrage about it, it takes much more work and time for recognition and solutions. Celebs need to suck it up. If you don’t want nude pix exposed–don’t take nude pix. They have money. They can wait to get a private jet or something to show intimacy. They get lazy.
Thanks MikuMarmalade. Well put! 🙂
Well, at first I thought I was SAFE, because that’s what ‘they’ said. I didn’t really look into who ‘they’ were, but it seemed that ‘they’ invented this thingy called the internet, which must be legal right? which I still clearly don’t understand. I used to listen to my radio wondering how the musician fit into such a small space.
SO…I’m stupid….yup..very stupid…….but being stupid, wasn’t my fault, because I was under a false illusion which was only an illusion brought about due to not being educated on this ‘stuff’. 🙂
SO…..I’m a victim..yup, a victim of horrible people who just spy on my ‘stuff’, nasty, very nasty… 😦
.hmmm, so a stupid victim being too stupid to educate myself on ‘stuff’ that I don’t understand, still wondering how the musician fit into the radio, I guess, I’m neither……I’m simply uneducated, and so need to get my uneducated self sorted FAST! 🙂 and if I don’t? Then I’m simply stupid! LOL
See, that IS stupid to think that a musician is in the radio. What about the rest of the band and the technicians that set up the stage and the microphones? They are in there too you know. He doesn’t do it all by himself! 😉
You say that there are two sides to the argument, but that’s not so. Are these celebrities stupid or are they victims? Those two arguments are not mutually exclusive. The photos that were stolen were stolen. That’s wrong. The photos were stored in a place that is fairly easy to steal from, and that’s stupid.
I’ll compare this to something more extreme. A few years back (or many years, I have a very fluid sense of time) a major news story told us about a tiger at a zoo that got fee and attacked some people who had been pestering it. It wasn’t uncommon to hear people say that “they got what they deserved”. That’s not even a little bit true though. They might have got what they were asking for, but that’s not the same as saying they deserved it. Trying to piss off a tiger is an extremely stupid thing to do even if it is in a cage. These people were morons. Does being a moron mean you deserve to be mauled by a tiger though? No. Not even if your stupidity involves a tiger. It’s tragic that someone might pay for their stupidity with that.
The celebrity photo ‘scandal’ is not a life and limb question like the tiger one, but in a way the question is similar. Saying that there are two sides to the argument implies that these people might have gotten what they deserved. That’s not so. You might make the argument that they were asking for it, but that doesn’t mean it was deserved. Were they foolish for storing private photos online? Inarguably. But did they DESERVE to have their privacy violated? No. The one does not mean the other. Both sides of the argument are true. You don’t have to lean towards one or the other. Their mistakes do not keep them from being victims.
Interesting points made. However what I DID say is that there were 2 sides of an argument emerging, (from media reports garnered from Twitter). I myself did not say there were 2 sides to this argument or make the implication suggested.
A misinterpretation on my part. I do apologize.
What I read was, “There are 2 sides of an argument emerging as depicted above.” Then, “I see both sides…kinda…sorta, but I can’t help leaning more to one of them…” This last bit led me to my faulty assumption. It seemed to validate the implication, though not to make it, admittedly.
I hate to sound like I’m on a high school debate squad, I just hope I didn’t offend. Semantics are a lot harder to read when typed than when spoken. I’ve stepped on more toes online than I ever do in person.
No no I’ve been there! I’ve always said that much as I love blogging and writing, occasionally one fails to the deliver in the words the twinkle in the eye when stating a particular point and it gets misconstrued as a curt response…even with a big ol’ smiling smiley there.
But no offense taken. I read the comment and noted the points you made – which were in themselves valid and clarified my bit. No problem.
I was at a talk where the speaker, a technology teacher, said, “If you think you’ve got privacy, get over it.” Technology is a wonderful thing, but sad realities accompany the glorious and the fun. You’re right: we need to school ourselves on being careful, being safe.
Very true. it’s just common sense really. Thanks Pam.
I can see both sides, yes it’s unfair their personal images were stolen, but you HAVE to know that you’re at more risk/exposure for hackers to try and steal personal information, images, etc. when you are considered a celebrity. No one has told these people that their personal information and pictures on their phone could be compromised? This will not be the last time a big hack like this occurs either, and I’m just waiting for the hack to come from facebook, twitter, instagram etc. Think about it when you want to upload a picture to social media through your phone. All of these apps have immediate access to your pictures–your entire album populates when you choose ‘upload photo’. It seems almost too easy and too certain that the next big celebrity photo hack will happen any day. In fact, it probably has already happened, the photos just haven’t been released by hacker. Try that on for size.
That pretty much sums it up right there with a bow. Thanks Lauren. Yes, you are a victim, but actually with insight and precaution you don’t have to be one.
I grant that there is no such thing as a safe place to store personal and private items. But there are safer places to store these things than on something as potentially suspect as “cloud” technology. I use that kind of storage and file-sharing tech for those things I want to, or plan to, share with a larger audience or with business associates. It’s more cost-effective than servers.
But I don’t use DropBox, Onedrive, iCloud, or other off-site server storage for sensitive material. I can’t imagine a less secure sounding technology. And it is naive, at least, to treat that kind of tech as though it were a highly regulated safe-deposit box for things I want to keep absolutely private or shared with an intimate person or group of friends. I don’t care what the marketing materials say – hackers are perpetually at work on those things and they will success eventually.
The term “internet security” is as much an oxymoron as “military intelligence.”
There are so many alternatives to store that material that is generally safe from prying eyes. At least, more safe than a common storage medium on a server hosting millions of other accounts.
Before I wind up perceived as arguing the first point, which admittedly I am a bit, the invasion and release of this material is, at minimum, a violation and I’m willing to argue that it is an act of violence against these people, too. And its more than just being mean-spirited. It’s vicious.
But do the victimized persons – Jennifer Lawrence, Kay Upton and others, et. al., not realize from the bleat of paparazzi dogging their steps that they are now in that welcome/unwelcome state of “celebrity” where the average trash media consumer clamors for their image and news of their perceived lives of fame and glamor? The root of that interest is to glory in a famous person’s stumbles more than their accomplishments?
Have they lived in isolation for the last 20 years that they don’t know the premium that trash media has placed on candid images of them nude? Surely their agents and peers in the industry would not permit them to be so naive. If there is a dollar to be made from obtaining those images, there is someone in this world willing to sell their soul to get them.
People have been taking candid nude images of themselves, their intimates or spouses since the advent of Super 8 cameras. (If that reference is too obscure these days, think VHS home video cameras.) It’s just that for us teeming millions, no one is wanting to pay hundreds of thousands to see those images. In fact, most of us would pay not to see them.
But sadly, that’s not the case here.
Oh, by the way. Digital Polaroids, you can have such a thing: http://www.amazon.com/Polaroid-Z2300-Digital-Instant-Camera/dp/B008GVXL1A
Excellent points, thank you bergerjaques. And “The term “internet security” is as much an oxymoron as “military intelligence” (giggle.)
Reblogged this on Noor Approves and commented:
When someone tells you you’re safe, you hope for the best that you are. That doesn’t mean they’re right though- not always.
Thanks Noor! 🙂
What web companies are selling is Control. We all hanker for it. It is a theme that runs through all of human history. We want to believe we can control what will happen. And our tech company “benefactors” (that’s another chat for another day) want us to believe they have found the “safe” answers.
Truth is, there are no safe answers – no absolute control. If you have something that others want, if they want it bad enough, you can’t protect it well enough to prevent them from getting it eventually.
Even major governments with all their resources and power have their secrets stolen. How can a company that allows anyone who wants to pay a small fee to access the same repository as millions of other people – all without any security clearance or background check, or even proof that you are who you say you are; how can that company “guarantee” the safety of the content you store with them?
And how can people let themselves believe the pie-in-the-sky fairy tales those companies sell?
True. But I can imagine as a young starlet / person that this is not the sort of thing they would spend their time thinking about…at least not before.
It is unfortunate but very true. Everything that we put online is accessible. I also unite, it IS stealing.
Thanks Emma!
This is stealing. The majority of us do not condone stealing and will not want to receive a stolen object. We are moving from a “digital desert” to a “digital ocean”. We will use different means of safekeeping digital property. It’s the ‘cloud’ for today. What will it be for tomorrow? Let’s unite and call it stealing.
I unite! It’s stealing! 🙂
This is great and I agree. Some people have to realize that we live in a digital world and whatever you put online is not private.
Short and sweet. Like it! 🙂
Really, there is no such thing as a secure place. Anything can be broken into, it doesn’t matter how good your security is or how protected you feel your stuff is. Yes, some things are harder to access than others, but there will always be people out there who have the ability and want to take things that are locked up/protected. So to say that these people are at fault is not a true statement. They are victims because someone chose to violate their privacy and steal from them. To say that they should have realized that the cloud could be hacked is like saying that they should realize that someone could break into their home. Do they realize those things? Probably, but they put their faith in whatever security they have chosen. It is not their fault that there are people out there who feel that it is ok to violate that.
Thanks purplerachacha. I would add that a locked door can certainly be breached but is perfectly understandable. A lot of people (most people) don’t understand the internet and how it works. it can’t be wise to put your faith into something you don’t understand, surely?
I definitely agree with that statement. I will never trust in a cloud system because of that very reason.
I see both sides of this. Celeb or not, everyone should be careful what they do with things that can get hacked into. One shouldn’t say or put stuff onto something that can possibly be hacked into and have the world see. It’s common sense. There are normal cameras and video cameras for “naughty” private things that can’t be hacked into.
On the other hand, nobody deserves the right to have their stuff hacked into then have their private info done with whatever. Every Time one of us puts in anything including our banks info, our SS numbers etc into the computer, it can easily be hacked. We just have to be aware of it and do our best to be careful. Even though the web is something, cool, fun and can make our lives easier, we also lose a part of our privacy and ourselves when we use these type of devices. It’s sad to hear about people stealing others things and using them how they see fit.
If one does something like have sexy videos and/or photos in a device that can be hacked, they need to beware of this. It isn’t their fault their things got hacked but people do need to be careful.
Balanced and savvy. Thanks tjt072.
Absolutely, it was private property and regardless of where it was it shouldn’t have been taken. But what I don’t understand is why so many people have nude photos or sex tapes? Am I the only person on the planet not doing this?
No. There’s you, me, Pieter (down the comment board), the Queen and Prince Philip. 😀
very glad to be in such good company 🙂
My mom always told me don’t write or say anything you don’t want anyone else to know. That goes even more today because the world is too entwined with each other. I personally do not feel sorry for her or any of the rest of the ones that got “hacked” for 2 reasons: First even though they may not want them out there it boosts their popularity and searches on the net. Second if they really did not want them public why did they post them in something that has been proven is not that secure. It is to a point but come on anyone with a little common sense about computers know that nothing is completely secure. They need a reality check I think.
Thanks geekkat! My Moms has said similar. 🙂
I don’t understand the need to take naked pics of one’s self or girlfriend. I am a little older, but I have never had a girlfriend ask me to take nudies of them! If you are a female star, you are crazy to do it, unless you want everyone to see them.
Thanks neuroticocomic. As my mother says, once you tell ANYone a secret it isn’t a secret.
More like stupid than being victims.
Let me elaborate
We are humans.
Humans cannot be trusted, irrespective of how much we keep hope alive and choose to be positive.
There is good and evil.
There will always be good and bad people. People who have moral scruples and choose to show respect to others, and those who don’t give a damn about all that ‘nonsense’
Knowing the above, should we choose to live like there are no reverse side to the coin, and nothing could ever go wrong? Hell to the NO!
If you have sensitive information, keep it off the web. Keep it off hardware/software…even peopleware, and let it stay in your head.
No need crying fowl and playing the victim when you have information and choose to neglect it.
Knowledge is power has literal meanings.
Intense Uju! Intense! I love it! Makes sense and I can’t disagree. 🙂
I agree with the idea that these people are victims. It doesn’t matter what their clouds did or did not contain. This is a violation of privacy and should be severely punished. What amazes me is that people are taking sides on this. There shouldn’t be sides; what people do with their electronic devices is solely their business as long they aren’t hurting anyone else.
Thanks Kahina.
I completely agree with you! There is no excuse for hacking someone’s private photos and leaking them to the media. It is totally invasive and the fact that people are trying to blame the celebrities for taking these pictures is disgusting!
I hear you Belle! Thank you.
My question is simply: Why would anyone want to take naked pics of yourself…and then proceed to save them!!
Hello Pieter! I answer this as one who has no naked pics (that I know of!) 😉 and have never felt the need to have them probably for the same reasons as your puzzlement. But if they do that should be their prerogative no?
Absolutely, and they need to be protected, I agree. But still, why oh why have them in the first place…
I know what you are saying. I hear you! 🙂
To immortalize the image of their youthful bodies, considering old age and dementia couldn’t be far off.
Just saying.
Yup that’s certainly why some people do it. I forgot that one! Thanks Uju!
The whole thing has been labelled a scandal and Jennifer Lawrence along with many other celebrities have been victim-blamed to no end for the hacking of their iCloud accounts and spreading of their private photos. I don’t see how anyone can say “she should’ve known better”. If she wanted nude photos of herself to be made public, being a celebrity there is no doubt she would have more than enough means to do so. She was hacked and her privacy was violated, just because she is a celebrity it doesn’t make her a robot without feelings or a sexual object available for everyone to look out without her consent.
Nice article. Glad you’re leaning towards the latter.
It must be a horrible feeling, but hopefully all the attention will highlight to people that there is no such thing as a secure device. It just doesn’t exist.
I just wonder how much free time these hackers have..they spend so much time on these activities if only they did something good rather than this.
I feel that stealing or taking something without permission is a crime and it should be treated that way always…
Hello Bikram! *Wave* – Yes of course it is a crime and yes they spend a lot of time doing these things because it can be very lucrative. It is like having a 9-5 job.
I think at the beginning the bad guys would determine to stole personal information from you whether you protect it or not. Especially when storage devices are more and more popular today, between massive paper materials and compact media materials the answer is very clear. the thing is a lot bad guys out there know pretty sure about the internet than we (the users) do. Is that your fault if you cannot defend yourself from complicated crime like this.
No, well stated vothikhanhhoa. Not everyone will be as advanced as the hackers with technology, which perhaps is why one can be more vigilant with the simple things like don’t put highly sensitive things where they don’t have to go.
I could not agree less. However, as you can see, when somebody do crazy things with his (her) life it’s personal problem but when somebody try to steal other’s private stuffs it’s social issues.
P/S: I love the way you spread out ideas on your blogs. I believe conversations will make people nurture their minds, Thank you for that 🙂
Thanks. 🙂 Healthy debate is always good.
That’s why your blog is so attractive. I love the way you show the world what you think about it’s issues ❤
I think that celebrities should be more conscious of threats such as this. Yes, in a perfect world they wouldn’t need to be but we live in the real world.
This happens all the time and if the hacker is good enough it won’t matter if its a good password or not. Some people spend all of their time perfecting ways to breach other people’s privacy. Not because they don’t know that its wrong but because they don’t care.
I really do hope that they convict the hacker, but honestly people need to adapt to the digital age and realize that NOTHING online is private.
Thank you Lauren, nicely put.
So in my former life (and still as I freelance) as an IT Project Mgr “cloud computing” was a major area of interest. Personally, I love the ease of use that I get from being able to use my Google Drive and Dropbox to transfer files, photos etc between all my devices. I use my iCloud to share photos with my parents and oversee what games my kid is playing etc.
But with the good comes the bad and unfortunately for Kate Upton, JLaw and others perpetrators want their nudie photos etc. For the average joe like you and me, they want personal identifying information that will allow them to gain access to our credit account, bank info etc.
Best article I have ever read was in Wired magazine when one of their editors was hacked in the worst way: http://www.wired.com/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/all/
My stance when you are online is to always assume worst case scenario. Paranoid, probably and a tad jaded.
Practical even dear Blarney? And yes I read that piece when it was written. Epic stuff. Felt very sorry for him. But you live and you learn.
I believe that it was not the smartest thing to take those photos however it does not make it right that someone hacked them and stole the photos, literally exposing them to the world.
To some extent they should be aware it is highly more than likely nowadays, especially if you are a celebrity, that if you are storing nude photos on any device or even the cloud that it can and likely will be hacked and/or leaked.
That being said they are victims and it doesn’t make it right.
Cheers! ^_^
Thanks Grieving S and very well put.
The prude in me is wondering why they had nekked pictures of themselves in the first place, and who took them. I swear, it’s like The Talk goes right over the prude in me’s head every. damn. time.
Ha ha HT! Can’t say I can answer that one! 🙂
I personally wouldn’t keep money on my front seat of my car for anyone to see, but that doesn’t mean I’m asking for it to get stolen. Same with the iphone pictures. If it doesn’t belong to you, don’t touch it!
Thanks Beth! Again my only problem with that is that if we could control what villains do then the whole world would be a different place. But we can’t, so that only leaves one other option.
In a perfect world we wouldn’t have to worry about horrible situations such as this one. But life isn’t always fair. There’s poverty, inequality, and the potential to get your personal belongings rifled through both literally and digitally. I’m not excusing the hacker’s behavior or the people who’ve looked at those photos. That said, I wouldn’t operate on the assumption that the world is fair and just either. Also, can we just go back to Polaroids?! 😉
Polar…what-y? Polar bears? Polar ice caps? My goodness doesn’t that little invention seem like Jesus invented it whilst carpentering! How time flies!
Hahahahahahaha your reaction to the word Polaroid is hilarious! My 16 year old wants one desperately.
Lol! I could defo see them making a cool vintage come back for the young ‘ins!
I say stealing is stealing. It doesn’t matter how they broke in or what they broke into, if they took something that did not belong to them, they’ve committed a crime.
I have dead bolts and window locks and some people have alarm systems. In this new world of ours, these sophisticated cyber criminals are the new burglars. Yes, we take precautions in our homes by recording serial numbers and taking photos of our belongings for insurance purposes but to my knowledge, there is no law against adults taking digital nudies for their personal use. There is no insurance for that. Where we slip up is having a false sense of security. The best you can do is be aware that crime is everywhere and regardless of your status, it can happen to you.
Yes I think that’s where my ambivalence lies PSB. Our false sense of security. We must step up to the plate a little because no matter how many beastly names we call thieves and hackers they are going nowhere fast, therefore WE must change what we can control.
I agree with the latter. Yeah, anyone with common sense knows to make a password that isn’t easy, and different passwords for different websites, etc. But I tend to have too much faith in the human race and wouldn’t expect anyone to hack into my personal property. That might be a different story if I were a celebrity but the ones who committed the crime are the ones to be held responsible in this case. J-Law has every right to do whatever she wants with her camera and it’s none of our business. Those hackers really just need to get a life!
Go Sarah! I hear you!
I agree with this 100%. This is a massive violation of privacy. The argument that the victims are to blame for their stupidity is also false and insulting. It’s like saying that someone whose bike was stolen deserved it because they failed to realize that a handheld laser could blast right through a titanium lock. Uh, no — most people do not know how their private devices could be hacked into. To call them stupid is irresponsible.
Thank you Notes.
We’ll stated!