fbpx

Israeli arrested in Madonna song leak probe

An Israeli man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of hacking into the computers of a number of international singing stars, including Madonna, and selling their songs online, a police source said.
[additional-authors]
January 21, 2015

An Israeli man was arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of hacking into the computers of a number of international singing stars, including Madonna, and selling their songs online, a police source said.

A police spokesman confirmed that a 39-year-old Israeli had been detained, but citing a court-issued gag order declined to name him or his alleged victims.

In December, unfinished tracks were leaked from Madonna's “Rebel Heart” album before its release, an act the singer described as “artistic rape” in a post, later deleted, from her Instagram account.

A private Israeli investigator, Asher Wizman, said Madonna's team had contacted his company several weeks ago to look into the matter after rumours of an Israeli connection to the leak.

Madonna, a devotee of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, has visited Israel several times and kicked off a 2012 world tour in Tel Aviv.

“Our investigator found her computers, at home and at a studio, were broken into from a computer in Israel,” Wizman told Reuters. “We tracked down the computer, and the man behind it. After gathering enough evidence, we turned to the police and he was arrested today.”

Police said its cyber unit had carried out an investigation along with the FBI following a complaint from a Madonna representative in Israel.

Israeli media said the man taken into custody was a former contestant on a popular television singing contest in Israel.

“He is suspected of computer hacking, copyright violation and fraudulent receipt of goods,” a police spokesman said.

“During the investigation it appeared the suspect had broken into the computers of a number of international artists, stole unreleased demos and final tracks and sold them over the internet,” the spokesman said.

No charges have yet been filed against him.

Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.

Editor's Picks

Latest Articles

Losing One’s True North

Normally we say goodbye to our loved ones, as they fly back to their normal lives, but what is normal about the lives they fly back to at this moment in time?

Peter Beinart’s Rapture

Instead of correcting some of the hyperbolic anti-Israel “reporting” that has so blurred people’s capacity to know what is going on, he pours fuel on the flames of ignorance and perpetuates a rhetoric that lays blame for the whole conflict primarily or solely on Israel.

More news and opinions than at a
Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.