Scotland Yard arrests man in Pippa Middleton hack case

A 35-year-old man has been arrested by the Scotland Yard in a case involving the alleged hacking of Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton sister’s iCloud account that contained around 3,000 private photographs, including that of Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Scotland Yard said they arrested the man on Saturday at an address in Northamptonshire, in the East Midlands region of England, “on suspicion of a Computer Misuse Act offence”.

The man has been taken into custody at a south London police station.

Around 3,000 private photographs, said to include snaps of 33-year-old Pippa Middleton and Britain’s royal family are believed to have been stolen.

They include pictures of Prince George and Princess Charlotte, William and Kate’s children. The images were offered by an anonymous seller via WhatsApp to several UK newspapers.

The Sun said it had been approached by someone using a pseudonym and asking for £50,000 within 48 hours. Pippa was maid of honour when the Duchess of Cambridge married Prince William in 2011.

Earlier this year, she and her boyfriend, hedge fund manager James Matthews, confirmed they are engaged to be married, with a wedding planned for next year.

It’s not the first time that hackers have targeted Apple's popular iCloud online data backup service in search of images. In 2014, a hacker leaked a series of pictures showing Hollyw-ood star Jennifer Lawrence and other female celebrities in the nude.