California Hacker Sentenced to 9 Years for Massive iCloud Data Theft

A California resident known online as icloudripper4you has been sentenced to nine years in prison for hacking thousands of Apple iCloud accounts and stealing a massive trove of personal data. Hao Kuo Chi, a 41-year-old from Los Angeles, pleaded guilty last year to stealing more than 620,000 personal photos and 9,000 videos from other people’s accounts.

The Florida prosecutor’s office, which brought charges of conspiracy and computer fraud against Chi, reported that he sold his iCloud hacking “services” online. Clients would provide him with specific iCloud accounts to target, and Chi, along with unidentified accomplices, would impersonate Apple support representatives in emails sent to victims. By tricking victims into revealing their iCloud credentials, the scammers were able to steal photos and videos from their accounts.

How the Scheme Worked

The group operated from September 2014 to May 2018. During this time, they used stolen Apple IDs and passwords not only to fulfill hacking requests but also to search for nude photos and videos in the compromised accounts. Chi and his accomplices shared the explicit content they found with each other using a foreign end-to-end encrypted email service to maintain anonymity.

Chi also distributed some of the compromising photos on the now-defunct website Anon-IB, with the intent to “intimidate, insult, and torment” his victims.

Scope of the Crime

Last year, Chi admitted to gaining unauthorized access to at least 306 iCloud accounts, most of which belonged to young women in states including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Chi stored about 3.5 terabytes of stolen content in both cloud and physical storage, affecting more than 500 victims. Approximately 1 terabyte of this data consisted solely of stolen erotic photos and videos.

“Chi’s email accounts contained iCloud credentials for about 4,700 victims. His accounts also showed that he sent stolen content to other conspirators more than 300 times,” U.S. authorities reported.

Prosecutor’s Statement

Now that Chi has been sentenced to nine years in prison, U.S. Attorney Roger Handberg commented on the case:

“Chi’s victims included hundreds of women across the country. He made them fear for their safety and reputation. This sentence reflects the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s commitment to holding cybercriminals accountable for their crimes.”