Alleged hacker behind nude celebrity leak goes on the run

Jennifer Lawrence arrives at the Oscars on Sunday, March 2, 2014. Lawrence, a three-time Oscar nominee who won for her role in 'Silver Linings Playbook,' contacted the FBI after the images began appearing Sunday. (Jordan Strauss / Invision)

The alleged hacker responsible for the leaked naked pictures of Jennifer Lawrence has gone on the run.

The anonymous individual - who posted explicit images of female celebrities on the image-based bulletin board 4chan last weekend - fled his hideaway on Monday after the FBI announced it was launching an international hunt for the hacker.

The anonymous hacker, who goes by the name OriginalGuy, posted on the thread that he would be "moving to another location," before threatening to release more images in exchange for donations.

He wrote: "Guys, just to let you know I didn't do this by myself. There are several other people who were in on it and I needed to count on to make this happened.

"This is the result of several months of long and hard work by all involved. We appreciate your donations and applaud your excitement. I will soon be moving to another location from which I will continue to post. (sic)."

It is believed a flaw in Apple's iCloud service may have allowed the culprit to steal the explicit images of stars including Kirsten Dunst, Kelly Brook and Kate Upton.

However, an FBI source is quoted by the Daily Mirror newspaper as saying: "Whenever anyone steals information from another computer or device there is a trail left behind.

"Agents have a long and proven record of bringing those responsible to justice and they are confident they will get their man or woman.

"It is a disgraceful breach of privacy, the likes of which we have never seen before. It is a game of cat and mouse now - only the FBI has very big claws."

Meanwhile, Apple has since denied a flaw in its software is responsible for the leak and believe the hacker has been able to get hold of the pictures by guessing passwords and usernames.

The firm said in a statement: "None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple's systems, including iCloud or Find my iPhone."