The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has formally commenced the probe on the case involving the hacked pictures of Jennifer Lawrence and other female celebrities, which were distributed online on Sunday. At present, the issue of the hacked photographs of these personalities, which surfaced in various social networking sites such as 4chan, Reddit, Twitter, and Tumblr, is already considered an official case for the FBI to investigate.

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This confirmation came after a U.S. official disclosed to CNN's Pamela Brown on Monday that several of the purported victims "have engaged with the FBI". In a statement from FBI spokesperson Laura Eimiller on Monday, she said that, "The FBI is aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals, and is addressing the matter." However, Eimiller declined to provide any further comment as such would be "inappropriate at this time".

Speculations by technology enthusiasts reveal that the culprit for the online hacking incident might be the purported flaw in the "Find My Phone" app of Apple. According to cyber-security experts, this feature might have provided the hacker access to the iCloud data of the female celebrities. In a statement released to CNN on Monday, Apple confirmed that the company is currently investigating the reports involving the speculation that its iCloud online data backup service was instrumental to the successful hacking of the controversial photos. "We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report," Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokesperson, announced.

One of the targeted celebrities by the hacker, Kirsten Dunst, took to Twitter her frustrations. "Thank you iCloud," the actress tweeted. She also included emoticons in her post to graphically convey her displeasure.

In a statement, the publicist of Lawrence declared that "authorities have been contacted and will prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos of Jennifer Lawrence." Lawrence Shire, the lawyer of another female celebrity victim, Kate Upton, stated that the incident is "an outrageous violation" of the star's privacy. In addition, Shire said that anyone caught disseminating or duplicating the unlawfully obtained photographs will be pursued the fullest extent possible.

TagsJennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton, Kirsten Dunst, FBI, Natalie Kerris, Find My Phone, iCloud, Lawrence Shire, 4chan, Reddit, Tumblr, Pamela Brown, Laura Eimiller