AceShowbiz -

The FBI and Apple have released statements after naked photos of female celebrities such as Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Upton and Mary Elizabeth Winstead were spread online without their permission. In a statement to NBC News, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that they were aware of the alleged hacking.

"The FBI is aware of the allegations concerning computer intrusions and the unlawful release of material involving high profile individuals and is addressing the matter," the FBI said on Monday, September 1.

The private images which emerged online on Sunday reportedly were stolen from online file storage. In response to the speculations, a spokesperson for Apple which manages iCloud says, "We take user privacy very seriously and are actively investigating this report."

A rep for Upton said that they would "pursue" anyone who took part in the hacking after images of a woman who looks like the model and a man who bears resemblance to her boyfriend Justin Verlander landed online. "This is obviously an outrageous violation of our client Kate Upton's privacy," the rep said. "We intend to pursue anyone disseminating or duplicating these illegally obtained images to the fullest extent possible."

Kirsten Dunst also responded to the leak and called out iCloud in a Twitter post. "Thank you iCloud," she sarcastically said.

While some stars admitted that the naked photos which are spread on the internet are theirs, others said that they were fake. "These so called nudes of me are FAKE people," Victoria Justice previously wrote, while a rep for Ariana Grande told BuzzFeed, "The photos are completely fake."