More female celebrities appear to have been targeted by hackers, with explicit images of Rihanna, Kate Bosworth and new images of Jennifer Lawrence being leaked online.

Dozens of personal photos of the stars were uploaded to the online bulletin board 4chan and Reddit on Sunday, US time, in what is thought to be a continuation of the privacy breach that resulted in hundreds of naked photos of actresses being circulated online earlier this month.

Lawrence, one of the most high-profile actresses in the previous leak, appears to have fallen victim again, while nude images of Kim Kardashian and Rihanna were also circulating.

Actresses including Amber Heard, Hayden Panettiere, Vanessa Hudgens, Gabrielle Union, designer Mary-Kate Olsen, and soccer star Hope Solo also appeared to have been hacked, with new personal photos and videos being posted.

There was discussion on Reddit that Modern Family star Sarah Hyland had been hacked but that the photos did not show her face.

One topless photo of Heard features a message to her fiance, actor Johnny Depp, TMZ reported.

Union, who has appeared in the films 10 Things I Hate About You and Bring It On, released a statement saying her legal team was contacting the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

"It has come to our attention that our private moments, that were shared and deleted solely between my husband and myself, have been leaked by some vultures," she and her husband, basketball player Dwyane Wade, wrote in the statement, published by TMZ.

"I can't help but to be reminded that, since the dawn of time, women and children, specifically women of colour, have been victimised, and the power over their own bodies taken from them. These atrocities against women and children continue worldwide.

"For anyone out there also being affected by these and other hacking and hate crimes - We send our love, support and prayers. We have done nothing wrong."

Following the first privacy breach this month, Apple released a statement saying it was trying to identify those responsible.

"Our customers' privacy and security are of utmost importance to us," the statement said.

"After more than 40 hours of investigation, we have discovered that certain celebrity accounts were compromised by a very targeted attack on user names, passwords and security questions, a practice that has become all too common on the internet.

"None of the cases we have investigated has resulted from any breach in any of Apple's systems including iCloud or Find my iPhone.

"We are continuing to work with law enforcement to help identify the criminals involved."

The FBI and Apple have not responded to requests for a comment on the latest breaches, The Daily Telegraph in London reported.

Fairfax Media