Hollywood hacker apologizes to celebs

The man charged with hacking the private e-mail accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Christina Aguilera and other celebrities apologized on Thursday, saying he became addicted to prying into their affairs.

But Christopher Chaney, 35, said he never intended to sell
or release the information, which included nude photos that
later made their way to the Internet.

“It started as curiosity and it turned into just being
addicted to seeing behind the scenes of what was going on with
these people you see on the big screen every day,” Chaney told
Fox television affiliate WAWS in Jacksonville, Florida.

“I was almost relieved months ago when they came in and
took my computer...because I didn’t know how to stop,” he
said.

Chaney was charged on Wednesday with 26 counts of
cyber-related crimes against Hollywood celebrities after an
11-month FBI probe dubbed “Operation Hackerazzi.”

Victims included “Iron Man 2” star Johansson, whose topless
photo was leaked online in September, and “Black Swan” actress
Mila Kunis, who was seen in a bubble bath.

Chaney said he couldn’t remember who or when he started
hacking but said his activities just “snowballed”.

“I deeply apologize,” he said. “I know what I did was
probably one of the worst invasions of privacy someone could
experience. I am not trying to escape what I did.”

Chaney said he had no intention of selling the photos and
information or releasing it to others, saying he had been
approached by a third party but had given them nothing.

“I wasn’t attempting to break into e-mails and get stuff to
sell or purposefully put on the Internet...I never wanted to
sell or release any images,” he said in the interview.

Federal officials said on Wednesday that they had no
information on whether Chaney profited from the hacking, but
said the investigation, which identified more than 50 victims,
remained open and others could be implicated.

Chaney faces up to 121 years in jail if convicted on all
counts.

Investigators said there is no connection between Chaney
and a hacking scandal involving one of the London newspapers
owned by media giant News Corp.