Wolf was a victim of sextortion, after photographs of her were hacked and used in an attempt to blackmail her.[5][6][7] The FBI ran a probe after Wolf reported a threatening email demanding a 'special performance' for the hacker, whom she suspected to be Jared James Abrahams, her former high school classmate. In November 2013, Abrahams pleaded guilty to hacking over 100-150 women and installing the highly invasive malware Blackshades on their computers in order to obtain nude images and videos of them. One of his victims was a 14-year-old girl.[8] On March 18, 2014; Abrahams was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.[9] Legal scholar Star Kashman speculates that Abrahams used the technique of Google Dorking to find and target Cassidy Wolf's webcam online, leading to the act of sextortion.[10]
^Kashman, Star (2023). "GOOGLE DORKING OR LEGAL HACKING: FROM THE CIA COMPROMISE TO YOUR CAMERAS AT HOME, WE ARE NOT AS SAFE AS WE THINK". Wash. J. L. Tech. & Arts. 18 (2).
^"CASSIDY WOLF". missuniverse.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2013. Retrieved September 27, 2013.