US man pleads not guilty to celebrity email hacking

A US MAN has pleaded not guilty to hacking the email accounts of celebrities including Scarlett Johansson.

According to the BBC, Christopher Chaney from Jacksonville, Florida faces 26 charges, including unauthorised access to a computer and wiretapping, with a trial set for 27 December. He could be imprisoned for up to 121 years if found guilty of the alleged intrusions, which resulted in celebrity nude photos ending up online.

The judge turned down prosecutors' requests to remand Chaney into custody, but ordered bail of $110,000 (£68,689) and ordered that Chaney be fitted with an electronic tag.

More than 50 celebrities claim to be victims, including Johansson and actress Mila Kunis. Chaney has apologised for his actions.

Authorities believe that Chaney used public information to guess the passwords of his victims or the answers to security questions. The same technique was used in the past to hack into the email accounts of former US presidential candidate Sarah Palin and several Twitter employees.

If Chaney is found guilty, we think 121 years is a bit harsh, even though he might serve only 90 years. But then a lesson should be learned not to mess with Hollywood, as seemingly it's not worth it. µ