Scarlett Johansson felt "absolutely violated" when naked photos of her were leaked online.

The actress' email account was hacked last year and pictures she had meant to keep private were shown to the world.

Scarlett has discussed the devastating effect that period had on her life especially as she initially thought someone she knew was betraying her.

"It was really terrible; I felt absolutely violated," she told Stylist magazine.

"For a while, I thought it must be someone that I knew who was posting these pictures of me and that was making me incredibly paranoid. I was looking around at all of my friends, who I have known for 20 years, wondering who the backstabber was. So to find out it wasn't a friend who hacked in was a relief, oddly."

The 27-year-old actress went on to compare what she went through to the phone hacking scandal which has engulfed several British newspapers. The London-based Leveson Inquiry has been looking into allegations that some UK publications listened to people's voicemails and real emails without permission in order to obtain stories.

The News of the World newspaper has shut down due to the weight of the claims against it.

"I wasn't really aware of how vulnerable all of us are, but I think everybody is just discovering that now, especially with the recent phone-hacking scandals," Scarlett said.

"It isn't just celebrities, it's all kinds of people who are not asking for the spotlight. Being hacked made me feel more vulnerable than I ever had previously. I couldn't figure it out."

Christopher Chaney was eventually arrested for breaking into Scarlett's personal correspondence.

Scarlett has had a tough time recently, with her divorce from Ryan Reynolds being finalised last year.

She also opened up about their split in the interview, explaining concentrating on her career has helped her deal with her grief.

"I think life throws you a lot of curve balls and you're constantly learning to change and be more tolerant of things. I think I'm in that place now where things that I thought I knew, I actually didn't. And I'm more willing to admit that I was wrong, and to change my perspective and route," she said.

"Work; that has been my therapy. I was really happy to be able to have the safety net You can't bring any of that stuff to work, especially with what I do, you have to leave it at home."