Fappening 2.0: Leak of celebrity nudes continues as Alison Brie targeted by 'hacker'

The leak of nude images stolen from female celebrities, actors and musicians shows no sign of slowing as Alison Brie, well-known for her role in hit TV show Mad Men, has reportedly become the latest victim of the suspected hacking spree.

According to Gossip Cop, a celebrity website, nude images were leaked online on 22 April (Saturday), mere weeks after a hacker warned that explicit images of the actor would soon be published. The source of the release remains unknown at the time of writing.

On 15 March this year, the leaks, quickly dubbed "The Fappening 2.0", appeared on a number of gossip and little-known pornography websites, with female victims allegedly including Emma Watson, Amanda Seyfried, Miley Cyrus and many more.

Gossip Cop, which accessed the images of Brie, said one image showed the actor in a selfie pose while topless on a bed. Another was "clearly" taken in a film set trailer.

The images are being released as "previews" and are currently part-censored, the outlet said.

The celebrity gossip website named one social media account spreading the leaked images however it was unclear if they were the source. IBTimes UK is not linking to any website displaying the images or to the alleged Twitter account due to privacy concerns.

On one website known to host the salacious content, some of the most recent – and unverified – images and videos feature a number of new alleged victims, including Miss Norway contestant Maiken Brustad, Jennifer Lawrence and Madison Reed.

In early April, Miley Cyrus, Suki Waterhouse and Rosario Dawson were all named as victims, initially by celebrity gossip websites. Around the same time, images and videos were posted online claiming to feature Yvonne Strahovski, Ariel Winter and Miesha Tate.

On 17 April, nude photos of former WWE star Melina were published. Another wrestling star, former Divas champion Paige, was also victimised after nude images and a sex tape were released onto the internet, which she later confirmed via social media were shared without consent.

Those included in the batches of leaks have responded in different ways. Understandably, some victims pledged to take legal action against websites hosting the images and videos, while other have chosen to not respond, completely ignoring the publications.

A spokesperson for Emma Watson, one of most high-profile celebrities impacted so far, admitted images had been stolen but denied they were explicit. "Lawyers have been instructed and we are not commenting further," a statement read at the time.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, Paige, 24, real name Saraya-Jade Bevis, responded: "I made a big mistake. Huge. I put trust in the hands of someone that took advantage of a young girl years ago. It was my mistake and I'll always take responsibility."

In 2014, a slew of celeb leaks was blamed on weak security of Apple iCloud, used to store images and documents. Later, there were multiple arrests, with one 36-year-old called Ryan Collins being jailed for 18 months in 2016 after being found guilty of hacking charges.

Here, you can see the full list of alleged victims (so far).