Online Creeper Forwards Nude Pics to Women's Contacts

From:
http://dns.tmcnet.com/topics/internet-security/articles/135423-online-creeper-forwards-nude-pics-womens-contacts.htm

January 17, 2011





By Juliana Kenny


If all the hubbub surrounding Facebook’s (News - Alert) security andrecent consequences of posting inappropriate pictures on the Internet hasn’t dissuaded you from harboring nude ones of yourself, this story will.

A 23-year-old guy named George Bronk actively monitored certain women’s Facebook profiles and activity in order to hack into their email accounts and forward nude pictures of them to all of their contacts. He has since admitted to that act in addition to possession of child pornography, computer intrusion, and false impersonation. Bronk is originally from California, but his victims reside all over the United States and the UK.

Bronk’s strategy included monitoring wall posts and notes thereby discovering what the victims’ answers to security questions were. He was able to breach their email accounts, and then proceed to forward nude and seminude pictures of them to all of their contacts. Once he had their email account passwords, he also gained access to their Facebook profiles and posted the pictures there.

Bronk will be defended in court by Monica Lynch, who cites his cooperation with the investigation as reason to be lenient with his sentence. She stated that Bronk was simply immature and is a “23-year-old boy going on 15.” She went on to note that he is now fully aware of his infringement upon the law, “He's accepted full responsibility. It's a tragic situation.”

But the prosecutors say that Bronk was in full knowledge of his errors and deserves six years in prison for his crimes. His defense has surely been compromised by the seven other felonies he admitted some of which are mentioned above. Bronk even went so far as to threaten one of his victims so she would send him more explicit photos.

One of his victims in Connecticut contacted the police who were able to trace his activity to California. California officers obtained a warrant and searched his computer discovering 172 emails with incriminating images of his victims. This breach of email security once again brings to light the security issues Facebook has been dealing with, and calls for tighter controls.