Wolf was a victim of sextortion, after photographs of her were hacked and used in an attempt to blackmail her.[4][5][6] 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. Wolf never created the video demanded, and on September 26, 2013, Abrahams surrendered to FBI agents in Orange County.[citation needed] 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.[7] On March 18, 2014; Abrahams was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.[8] 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.[9]
^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.