Application security, Threat Management

Jersey woman charged with allegedly hacking Selena Gomez’s email

A New Jersey woman who allegedly couldn't keep her hands to herself was formerly charged in Los Angeles County on July 13 with hacking the email accounts of actress and singer Selena Gomez and her associate.

In a press release, the L.A. County DA's office accuses Susan Atrach of Ridgefield Park, N.J., of accessing the accounts multiple times from June 2015 through February 2016, during which time she allegedly shared and publicly posted various media files stored by the two victims.

Atrach, who turns 22 on July 17, was booked on five felony counts of identity theft; five felony counts of accessing and using computer data to commit fraud or to control or obtain money, property or data; and one felony court of accessing and using computer data or taking supporting documentation without permission. The charges could add up to a maximum sentence of nine years and eight months in state prison, if the defendant is convicted.

Atrach is slated to be arraigned on or before Aug. 27.

Bradley Barth

As director of multimedia content strategy at CyberRisk Alliance, Bradley Barth develops content for online conferences, webcasts, podcasts video/multimedia projects — often serving as moderator or host. For nearly six years, he wrote and reported for SC Media as deputy editor and, before that, senior reporter. He was previously a program executive with the tech-focused PR firm Voxus. Past journalistic experience includes stints as business editor at Executive Technology, a staff writer at New York Sportscene and a freelance journalist covering travel and entertainment. In his spare time, Bradley also writes screenplays.

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