Man hacks and steals nude photos and movies from dozens of college gals

(Pixabay)

By Mary Rose Corkery
Daily Caller News Foundation

A 25-year-old New York man pleaded guilty to hacking and stealing nude pictures and videos from dozens of college students, according to a Tuesday Department of Justice press release.

Nicholas Farber pleaded guilty on Monday for charges of computer intrusion causing damage and aggravated identity theft, the Justice Department said in the press release.

Farber acknowledged in his guilty plea that he and co-conspirator Michael Fish worked together from 2017 through 2019 to hack social media accounts from several female college students through obtaining their student emails and using the email accounts’ information, according to the Justice Department.

Farber, who completed his undergraduate degree in 2017 from the State University of New York Plattsburgh (SUNY-Plattsburgh), took the private nude images from the victims’ social media accounts and exchanged them online, according to the press release.

“Also, as a result of Faber’s crimes, the university had to allocate money and staff to identifying compromised accounts, reviewing computer and server access logs, resetting passwords, and notifying students and parents,” according to the press release.

Farber’s sentencing is set for June 9 and he consented to a restitution payment of $35,430 to the university, according to the press release.

“Fish pleaded guilty to computer hacking, aggravated identity theft and child pornography offenses, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 19,” the press release said.

Alexander Enyedi, president of SUNY-Plattsburgh, praised the university staff for helping in the prosecution in a statement shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

“Accessing other people’s accounts without their consent is a crime. We are pleased to see these cases brought and the guilty pleas filed. In these cases, prompt actions by our University Police and Library and Information Technology Services areas played a key role in identifying the individuals and advancing prosecution,” the statement said.

Once the school learned of the hacks in March 2019, they advised students to change passwords and implemented stronger security measures, according to the statement.

“We have multi-factor authentication in place now for all accounts, which requires users to authorize access through an additional text message or phone call step,” the statement said.

The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect a statement from SUNY-Plattsburgh.

This story originally was published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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