Madonna's hacker who leaked her songs sentenced to 14 months in prison
An Israeli man accused of leaking several songs he stole from pop star Madonna online has been sentenced to 14 months in prison after pleading guilty to charges.
Adi Lederman, an aspiring singer and former contestant on the Israeli TV show “A Star Is Born,” has admitted to hacking several artists including Madonna, and leaking unreleased songs online for his own profit.
Lederman was arrested in January after a coordinated FBI and Israeli police investigation.
The songs, stolen from the personal cloud accounts of several of Madonna's collaborators and her manager, were leaked online in December 2014 and later released by Madonna on her album "Rebel Heart."
Court records showed that Lederman didn't make much money from selling the songs to two other companies - no more than $1,000.
When Lederman was arrested, Madonna wrote on her website that she was grateful to the FBI and Israeli investigators for arresting the perpetrator responsible for invading her personal and professional work.
“Like every citizen, I have a right to privacy. This invasion of my life—creatively, professionally, and personally—remains a devastating and painful experience, as it would be for any artist who has been the victim of such criminal activity.”
She also said in online interviews that the theft of her songs, and other material from her computer including images, constitutes “a form of terrorism” and “artistic rape.”
The Madonna hack came at a time when celebrity hacking was at its peak - just months after the leak of nude photos of celebrities apparently stolen from iCloud accounts. And the same month as the massive Sony Pictures leak, which included leaked emails detailing actors' salaries.
A statement from the Israeli court said that Lederman's 14-month sentence, along with a fine of 15,000 shekels (about $4,000), will be a deterrent to others considering hacking.
The case can also serve as a warning and reminder to all of us to secure our online accounts with strong passwords and combinations wherever possible.
