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British court blocks publication of allegedly stolen images, information
Around 3,000 images reportedly were taken from Pippa Middleton's iCloud account
A British High Court has extended an injunction banning the publication of reportedly hacked photos and other data belonging to Pippa Middleton, the sister of Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, Middleton’s attorneys told CNN on Wednesday.
Lawyer Adam Wolanski brought the civil court action in London against the “person or persons unknown” on behalf of Middleton and her fiancé, financier James Matthews. Neither Middleton nor Matthews appeared in court.
Images of the duchess along with her children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, are believed to be among the 3,000 images snatched from Middleton’sApple iCloud data backup account,according to British media reports.
High Court Justice Philippa Whipple called the hack “an appalling intrusion” and extended an existing injunction to cover “all material and information” that may have been stolen from Middleton’s account. An Interim injunction had been granted Saturday.
Prince William and Catherine have tried to shield their children from the camera lens and guard their privacy. In an effort to provide the children with a normal upbringing, the couple have released only a few photos of the newest royals through Kensington Palace.
Specialist detectives from London’s Metropolitan Police Service, tasked with investigating the reported breach, arrested a 35-year-old man from Northamptonshire on Saturday.
The man,named Wednesday as Nathan Wyatt,was taken into custody on suspicion of a Computer Misuse Act offense and was held at a south London police station, police said.
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The reported breach came to light when two British newspapers said an anonymous seller approached them about the photos. The Sun reported that the thief – who demanded “a minimum of ￡50,000” (around $65,000) within 48 hours – claimed to also hold images of Middleton at a wedding dress fitting and nude photos of her fiancé.
Neither The Sun or the Daily Mail newspapers published the photographs.
Middleton is expected to wed Matthews next year. She announced her engagement in July.
Apple’s iCloud backup service came under attack in 2014 when a thief targeted a number of Hollywood stars. The stolen images, which featured actress Jennifer Lawrence and model Kate Upton, appeared on multiple sites, including 4chan, Reddit and Twitter.