Risque photos of celebs: Why hackers post them
For close to a year now, some very revealing photos of celebrities have been popping up on the Internet.
The latest, of Scarlett Johansson, were put up on Wednesday.
It turns out many of those racy photos are stolen right out of the celebs' smart phones.
CBSNews contributor Priya David Clemens reports this cyber-crime spree has involved some very big Hollywood names.
Others include "Friends with Benefits" co-stars Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis.
Johansson's reportedly asked the FBI to investigate how revealing pictures she may have taken of herself in private went public online.
Scarlett Johansson said to go to FBI over photos
"It is really easy to get access to someone's phone," says CNET's Brian Tong, "because these are now like mini-computers. These are smart phones, they have an e-mail address, you can figure out a password, and that's how they can get access to everything that's in your life."
Already an open-book, the lives of the rich and famous are increasingly targets for the hackers.
Some 50 celebrities -- Christina Aguilera and Jessica Alba among them -- have been hit -- and not necessarily for money.
Says Tong, "There's really no money to be had here. These are high-profile people who are put on a pedestal in our society, and that's one of the things they (the hackers) want to do, is just take them down a notch."
Hackers of the stars, or anyone else, face years, or even decades in prison if caught. But, legal experts point out there's one easy way to limit what they can swipe in the first place.
"In this day and age," notes CBS News legal analyst Lisa Bloom, "it doesn't make sense for anyone to have naked pictures on their phone, or indeed, to have any embarrassing information on their phone."
That advice comes too late for stars whose personal photos were already hacked.
The FBI is warning there's at least one individual or group of hackers behind recent celebrity cyber-leaks, and more may be on the way.