Tom Cruise and country singer and actress Julianne Hough are among the first victims of a new celebrity-centric hacking group.
Yesterday (Aug. 30), a group calling itself "Hollywood Leaks" posted a slew of photos of Hough believed to be taken from the cellphone of the "Dancing with the Stars" winner. The batch of more than 100 pics shows Hough striking various sexy poses, although, unlike with other celebrities who've been hacked, Hough's photos are not lewd.
Hollywood Leaks hits the scene
Hollywood Leaks sprung onto the hacking scene Aug. 19 when it set up its HWLeaks Twitter account and promptly leaked the script to Cruise's upcoming movie, "Rock of Ages." (The film, set for a 2012 release, also stars Hough.)
According to a subsequent Twitter post the same day, Hollywood Leaks targeted Cruise because of his affiliation with Scientology.
Aug. 19 proved to be a busy day, as Hollywood Leaks then dumped the script to Hough's upcoming film, a remake of "Footloose."
Calling all celebrities
The group then began leaking a random assortment of phone numbers and email addresses, including those belonging to "Twilight" actress Ashley Greene, Olympic speed skater Apolo Ohno, "Rock of Ages" director Adam Shankman and former 'N Sync member Joey Fatone.
Miley Cyrus, Lil Jon, Jennie Garth, Reggie Bush and rappers Akon and David Banner also had their phone numbers posted.
Most recently, Hollywood Leaks hacked into the Twitter account of "Gucci Gucci" rapper Kreayshawn and released nude photos of her, the Daily Dot reported.
Who is Hollywood Leaks?
Though the members of Hollywood Leaks have yet to be unmasked, all signs point to an affiliation with the Anonymous hacking group.
For one, the impetus for the Cruise attack, criticism of Scientology, has long been a motive for Anonymous. The language used on Hollywood Leak's Twitter page also echoes the grandiose manner in which Anonymous announces its exploits.
And in a YouTube video posted by Hollywood Leaks, a digitally manipulated voice recites Anonymous' mantra: " We are Anonymous. We do not forgive, we do not forget. Expect us."