Here's How Easy It Is To Hack Hollywood
Celebrities' email accounts are hacked so frequently it seems like they might as well upload their nude pics directly to the internet. Why? It's been ridiculously simple to break into their accounts with just a few pieces of information.
David Kushner has written a fascinating feature for GQ this month on Chris Chaney, the Hollywood hacker who spied on dozens of stars' email accounts for years and leaked nude pics of Scarlett Johannsen, Christina Aguilera, Renee Olstead and others. According to Kushner, Chaney used a remarkably basic technique to break into his first victim's email: He guessed their email address—first name followed by last name in Gmail—then reset the password by guessing the password reset question. The question was the name of the celebrity's pet, which he found on IMDB.
Chaney is far from the first celebrity hacker to use this technique. Sarah Palin's and Paris Hilton's email hackers both guessed their victims' password reset questions. You don't need any technical skills for this attack, just decent Google abilities. "This is an attack that any 17-year-old in America could have mounted," one security expert told TIME about the Palin hack.
We wondered just how easy it would be to find the answers to common password reset questions for famous people. It took tireless Gawker intern Jessica Benjestorf just a few hours to compile this list, mainly from Wikipedia and gossip blogs.
Note: Do not use this to hack into anyone's email. Christopher Chaney is currently facing up to 60 years in prison for his crimes. Even Scarlett Johansson's boobs are not worth it. And the accuracy of this list of course depends on the accuracy of the sources.
Kate Middleton
What is your mother's maiden name? Goldsmith
What city were you born in? Reading, Berkshire UK
What's your pet's name? Lupo
What high school did you go to? Downe House, Marlborough College
Where did you go for your honeymoon? Seychelles
What is your favorite movie? Walk the Line, Legally Blonde
Beyonce Knowles
What is your mother's maiden name? Beyincé
What city were you born in? Houston
What's your pet's name? Munchie
What high school did you go to? High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (Houston); Alief Elsik
Where did you go for your honeymoon? Arizona
Jennifer Lopez
What is your mother's maiden name? Rodriguez
What city were you born in? Bronx, NY
What's your pet's name? Floyd
What high school did you go to? Preston High School
Where did you go for your honeymoon? Chris Judd: Milan Marc Anthony: San Ysidro
Mila Kunis
What city were you born in? Chernivtsi, Ukraine
What's your pet's name? Shorty, Audrey
What is your favorite movie? Dirty Dancing
Zac Efron
What city were you born in? San Louis Obispo
What's your pet's name? Puppy
What high school did you go to? Arroyo Grande High School
What is your favorite movie? The Goonies
Charlize Theron
What is your mother's maiden name? Gerda Jacoba Aletta Maritz
What city were you born in? Benoni
What's your pet's name? Tucker
What high school did you go to? The National School of the Arts, Johannesburg
What is your favorite movie? Rear Window
Sarah Jessica Parker
What is your mother's maiden name? Keck
What city were you born in? Nelsonville
What high school did you go to? Dwight Morrow High School (NJ), Professional Children's School, Hollywood High School (CA)
Where did you go for your honeymoon?Ireland
Michelle Williams
What is your mother's maiden name? Swenson
What city were you born in? Kallispell, Montana
What's your pet's name? Lucky
Where did you go for your honeymoon? not known
Ashton Kutcher
What is your mother's maiden name? Finnegan
What city were you born in? Cedar Rapids
What's your pet's name? Bama
What high school did you go to? Clear Creek Amana High School
Where did you go for your honeymoon? Barcelona
Edward Norton
What is your mother's maiden name? Rouse
What city were you born in? Columbia, Maryland
What high school did you go to? Wilde Lake High School
Jennifer Hudson
What is your mother's maiden name? Donerson
What city were you born in? Chicago
What's your pet's name? Oscar
What high school did you go to? Dunbar Vocational High School
Amanda Seyfried
What is your mother's maiden name? Sander
What city were you born in? Allentown
What's your pet's name? Finn
What high school did you go to? William Allen High School
What is your favorite movie? Romeo and Juliet
Angelina Jolie
What is your mother's maiden name? Bertrand
What city were you born in? Los Angeles
What's your pet's name? Jacques
What high school did you go to? Beverly Hills High School
Where did you go for your honeymoon? Las Vegas
Kim Kardashian
What is your mother's maiden name? Houghton
What city were you born in? Los Angeles
What's your pet's name? Rocky
What high school did you go to? Marymount High School
Where did you go for your honeymoon? Amalfi Coast
What is your favorite movie? Clueless, The Notebook
Britney Spears
What is your mother's maiden name? Bridges
What city were you born in? McComb
What's your pet's name? Lacy Lucky and Bit Bit
What high school did you go to? Parklane Academy
Where did you go for your honeymoon? Kentwood
What is your favorite movie? Steel Magnolias
Kobe Bryant
What is your mother's maiden name? Cox
What city were you born in? Philadelphia
What high school did you go to? Lower Marion High School
What is your favorite movie? Star Wars
Reese Witherspoon
What is your mother's maiden name? Reese
What city were you born in? New Orleans
What's your pet's name? Frank Sinatra and Coco Chanel
What high school did you go to? Harpeth Hall School
Where did you go for your honeymoon? France/Italy
Brad Pitt
What is your mother's maiden name? Hillhouse
What city were you born in? Shawnee
What is your pet's name? Jacques
What high school did you go to? Kickapoo High School
Blake Lively
What city were you born in? Tarzana
What's your pet's name? Penny
What high school did you go to? Burbank High
What is your favorite movie? Waiting for Guffman, Wizard of Oz, Moulin Rouge
Lauren Conrad
What city were you born in? Laguna Beach
What's your pet's name? Chloe
What high school did you go to? Laguna Beach High School
What is your favorite movie?Fav chick flick: The Notebook
Katy Perry
What is your mother's maiden name? Perry
What city were you born in? Santa Barbara
What's your pet's name? Kitty Purry
What high school did you go to? Dos Pueblos High School
Where did you go for your honeymoon? Maldives
Victoria Beckham
What city were you born in? Harlow, Essex
What high school did you go to? St. Mary's High School
Where did you go for your honeymoon? Bora Bora
Eva Longoria
What is your mother's maiden name? Mireles
What city were you born in? Corpus Christi
What's your pet's name?Jinxy
Where did you go for your honeymoon?Turks and Caicos
Jessica Alba
What is your mother's maiden name? Jensen
What city were you born in? Pomona
What's your pet's name? Bowie, Sid Vicious
What high school did you go to? Claremont High School
Justin Bieber
What is your mother's maiden name? Mallett
What city were you born in? London, Ontario
What's your pet's name? Baylor
What is your favorite movie?Rocky Four
Leonardo DiCaprio
What is your mother's maiden name? Indenbirken
What city were you born in? Los Angeles, California
What's your pet's name? Django
What high school did you go to? John Marshall High School
What is your favorite movie?1. "The Bicycle Thief" 2. "Taxi Driver" 3. "8 1/2" 4. "2001: A Space Odyssey" 5. "East of Eden
To obviate easily-guessed password recovery questions everyone, celebrity or not, should enable two-factor authentication for Gmail and Facebook. This requires a code sent to your phone as well as a password to login, meaning a hacker would have to access/steal your phone as well as your computer to get at your sexts.