Dutch city council member Mitchel van der K is expected to get at least three years in jail following the iCloud hacking incident. Sources say van der K hacked into hundreds of women’s iCloud accounts and leaking images.
The local politician formerly occupied a seat on the local city council while also doubling as a hacker. He is identified as a 35-year-old man from Almere and took a seat as part of the VVD party.
According to ZDNet, van der K. successfully infiltrated more that 100 iCloud user accounts. Compromised data include emails, passwords, and chat accounts.
Apart from these, Infosecurity Magazine reports that the hacker obtained other personal and confidential data. These include personal images, nude photographs, videos, and many others.
In addition to being accused of hacking user accounts, Mitchel van der K. is also under fire for leaking nude photographs and videos. Targeted accounts and individuals include Dutch personalities, such as Laura Ponticorvo, a YouTuber, and Fatima Moreira de Melo, a former hockey star.
On another occasion, van der K is accused of catfishing and taking on another identity in order to gather photos of his victim.
After leaking and compromising Ponticorvo’s video, a formal investigation was launched by the authorities. A month after the investigation commenced, ZDNet states that crime journalist and former police officer John van den Heuvel publicly ousted the local political from his position.
Other renowned victims include Jennifer Lawrence and Kirsten Dunst. From both accounts, Threatpost revealed that the local politician was able to get nude pictures.
The incident was only discovered in 2017. However, it is believed that the hacker became part of the group around 2014 to 2015.
The three-year reign of the hacking party covered the infamous Celebgate party or The Fappening. These events were known for nude photos and videos of celebrities being circulated not only to members of the group but also making rounds on the Internet.
Van der K has publicly admitted to his crimes and his involvement in the group. However, the former politician says he was forced to hack the female victims by other members of the party, reports ZDNet. Should Mitchel fail to execute the hack, other hackers threatened to expose his own personal data.
Following this incident, prosecutors handling the case are asking three years in jail. The court sentence is slated to be announced in a few weeks’ time on December 24, 2019, Christmas Eve.
