U.S. Homeland Security probes hacking of actress Leslie Jones' website

[August 27, 2016]   By Gina Cherelus

(Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is investigating a new incident involving actress Leslie Jones, who has been targeted by online abusers, after hackers posted nude photos and personal information on the "Ghostbusters" star's website.

"The investigation is currently ongoing. In order to protect the integrity of the case, no further details are available at this time," Rachel Yong You, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said on Thursday in an email to Reuters.

ICE, as the agency is known, is a branch of the Department of Homeland Security. Representatives for Jones did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

On Wednesday, Jones' website, www.JustLeslie.com, was taken offline after nude photos and photos of the comedian's passport and driver's license were posted, reportedly accessed through her personal cellphone or iCloud account.

The hackers also juxtaposed images of the actress with photos of Harambe, a deceased gorilla.

Jones became a top trending topic on social media where many Twitter users including celebrities showed support for her.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton was among those expressing encouragement on Twitter for the NBC Saturday Night Live co-star.

"@Lesdoggg, no one deserves this—least of all someone who brings us so much joy. I'm with you. -H," Clinton wrote online.

Jones, who was a target of cyber bullying on Twitter in July, briefly quit the micro-blogging platform because she was bombarded by racist and abusive comments after starring in the female-led reboot of "Ghostbusters" this summer.

Jones almost quit Twitter last month after receiving a barrage of sexist and racist abuse and harassment from a number of users.

After Twitter Inc <TWTR.N> interjected and permanently suspended numerous users accounts for harassment, Jones returned to Twitter, where her humorous live tweets during the Olympics earned her an on-air contributor role in Rio de Janeiro for NBC.

(Reporting by Gina Cherelus; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy and Tom Brown)

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