Ariana Grande has sued a group of anonymous hackers who, she claims, have hacked devices and accounts used by photographers and producers she has collaborated with in order to access, and then leak and sell, unreleased music, images and videos. 

These hacks have been going on for fifteen years, Grande’s lawsuit claims, with 45 songs being leaked online ahead of release in just 2023 alone. Together, all this bad conduct constitutes a “malicious invasion” of Grande’s privacy, the lawsuit adds, and a “disruption of her career” that has caused “substantial and irreparable harm”.  

Neither Grande nor any other “public or private figure” should have to suffer hacks of this kind instigated by “wrongdoers who hide in the shadows and wreak technological havoc with impunity”, the lawsuit then says. And therefore it is “imperative” to Grande, for the benefit of herself and others, that “such conduct is deterred to the fullest extent possible”. 

Obviously the fact this lawsuit targets unnamed individuals – and all that talk of “hiding in the shadows” – points to one of the big challenges of this kind of litigation. 

First you have to figure out who you’re suing by subpoenaing information from internet companies who may be able to help identify the hackers. And even if that is successful, there’s the risk the hackers will be  based in countries where it’s really hard to pursue legal action. 

But having suffered hacks of this kind for most of her career, Grande seems to be up for the challenge, in a bid to stop the “unauthorised misappropriation and disclosure of these materials” in a way that “violates” not only her “identity and artistry”, but also “the direct and sacred relationship that exists between her and her fans”.  

The unnamed hackers have employed a number of different tactics in a bid to access Grande’s private music files, photos and behind-the-scenes video footage, some of which are outlined in the lawsuit. 

In one case the logins for a Dropbox account used by a photographer Grande worked with was stolen. Another time the phone of one of her producers was hacked. And in one case, hackers set up a domain name and Gmail account to trick a digital technician employed by another of Grande’s photographers to share private files. 

We now await to see if the courts can help Grande’s team figure out who all these hackers are. 

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