Senior officer tells Holyrood Justice Committee the women were targeted in small area of Scotland over three days.

Computer Science

Naked pictures of 25 woman from a small area in Scotland were posted online after they were targeted by hackers.

A senior officer has revealed that Police Scotland dealt with 25 separate reports from women about the unauthorised posting of intimate images online.

The revelation came as police welcomed efforts from MSPs at Holyrood to crack down on so-called revenge porn and the posting of intimate images.

Detective chief superintendent Lesley Boal revealed the hacking spree at Holyrood's Justice Committee, citing the "absolutely devastating" effects it had on the women involved.

Ms Boal said: "Victims are unclear whether (revenge porn) is an offence and police officers, given some of the circumstances, are not clear exactly what crime or offence it fits into.

"So, for perpetrators there has to be a clear message that this is absolutely not acceptable in society. In terms of how it impacts on victims, it is absolutely devastating.

"We have interpreted the Bill as not only covering intimate images disclosed in a domestic setting but broadly.

"To give you an example of why we welcome that, between August 20-22 this year in quite a small area of Scotland we had 25 separate reports made from members of the public regarding the unauthorised posting of intimate images.

"They had either taken the images themselves, or their partners or friends had, and they had stored them on their own personal computers. An individual, or individuals, unknown had hacked into their computers and then posted them alongside personal information on the internet.

"It was not in a domestic setting, there is no suggestion that it was a partner or prior partner for these 25 victims, but the work that has fallen from that is significant and the impact is just as stark for these 25 women than it would be for a domestic setting."

The Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm Bill is mainly designed to prosecute "revenge porn". Revenge porn breaches several existing laws but often leaves police, prosecutors and victims unsure of what particular crime has been committed.

Prosecutors also welcomed provisions to tighten up cross-border difficulties after another offender had to be prosecuted twice, with one trial in England for using a covert camera to record a young lady in the shower and a second trial in Scotland for keeping the image.

Catherine Dyer, chief executive of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: "There was a case in Scotland where indecent images were found which were taken without permission of the person.

"It was a young lady who had gone on holiday with a family friend, along with family members who all all lived in Scotland.

"The male person had set up a camera to take naked pictures of her in the shower, which were then recovered when the police raided his house in Scotland.

"But the taking of the image had taken place in England, and what happened there was there were two trials because at the moment we can't conjoin them.

"At the moment, England is one of the places where we don't have this cross-border ability to just take things that are pertinent, that a court could take account of, if the law was changed as proposed in this Bill."