Accomplice in Famed “Celebgate” iCloud Phishing Scandal Sentenced to 5 Years Behind Bars

Let’s be honest here: most of us have received our fair share of those annoying phishing emails, right? Whether it’s an illiterate fellow from “Nigeria” looking for a place to store his billion-dollar inheritance, or a simple sales pitch for an up-and-coming mobile phenomenon, most of us have been the target of at least one, if not several, phishing scams in recent years.

Of course, in today’s digital age, it’s probably not so much surprising as it is annoying — constantly getting emails in our inbox and having to enact otherwise drastic security measures above and beyond the status quo, just to protect our most precious personal information, right?

Well, as a Chicago man who was involved in one of the more recent, highly-publicized phishing scandals will likely tell you, it’s not all fun and games trying to trick the masses into their “clever” little digital webs.

According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office in Northern California, that man, Edward Majerczyk, recently entered a plea deal with prosecutors as part of his involvement in the famed ‘Celebgate’ phishing scandal of 2014 — during which the personal details of over 300 personal iCloud and Gmail accounts (including those of several Hollywood hot-shots) were accessed without authorization.

Majerczyk, of Chicago, Illinois, plans to plead guilty later this week for his involvement in the massive, 2014 computer fraud scheme that many in the mainstream media have since referred to as “Celebgate” — and, in light of that involvement, Majerczyk faces a maximum penalty of up to 5 years in prison.

“Well, what the heck is this ‘Celebgate’ nonsense all about, anyways?” you may be asking yourself. So here’s the low-down.. Back in 2014, Majerczyk, 28, and his 36-year-old accomplice, Ryan Collins, were allegedly partners in the massive phishing scheme that involved sending emails to over 300 victims — wherein the their personal credentials, such as iCloud and Gmail passwords, were requested in an attempt for Majerczyk and Collins to gain unlawful access to those accounts.

Majerczyk, and, to a lesser extent, Collins, then utilized the many passwords they received to access those victim’s digital accounts — from which they were able to harvest images, videos, and other sensitive data, according to prosecutors.

Those digital assets then circulated like wildfire on the dark web for some time, prior to being spread like viral infections in a crowded hospital on BitTorrent for essentially the whole world to see — and download — at their leisure.

“Hacking of online accounts to steal personal information is not merely an intrusion of an individual’s privacy but is a serious violation of federal law. Defendant’s conduct was a profound intrusion into the privacy of his victims and created vulnerabilities at multiple online service providers,” said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker, one of the case’s central prosecutors.

Phishing scandals, in and of themselves, are actually quite common in today’s day and age – but what made ‘Celebgate’ such a highly-publicized case was that Majerczyk was able to gain access to credentials affiliated with some A-list celebrities — such as Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, and others.

At the time of the scandal, most of the victims were quick to point the finger at Apple — citing that the Cupertino-company’s iCloud servers, and not willful thieves, were responsible for the damages. However, of course Apple was quick to rebuke those claims, noting that its iCloud customer information is inherently the safest it’ll ever be in the company’s hands.

In any case, Majerczyk is but the second of the two partners-in-crime to have entered a plea deal in connection with the ‘Celebgate’ scandal. Back in March of this year, his partner, Ryan Collins, agreed to a considerably shorter sentence of just 18-months behind bars — given that his involvement with the scandal was not quite as far-reaching as was Majerczyk’s.

At least, in the end, justice prevailed, right?

What are your thoughts about this case and the terms of punishment instated? Let us know in the comments!