French Hacker Arrested After Bragging on TV

A French hacker who boasted on TV about hacking into the network of an important defense contractor was arrested and charged with unauthorized access to a computer system, data theft and organized fraud.

The hacker appeared on the France 2 television programme "Complément d'enquête" (Further investigation) where he claimed to have hacked into computers belonging to the French Army and Thales Group, an IT contractor for the aerospace, defense and security industries.

After the programme aired, the company filed a complaint, claiming the hacker stole confidential information from its internal network.

The man, identified in only as Carl, was arrested on April 7 in Paris. When inspecting his computer, police found the details of hundreds of credit cards and bank accounts.

The hacker admitted selling the information on underground websites, as well as using them to make fraudulent purchases for himself and others.

This led to additional charges of organized fraud being added to the unauthorized access and data theft ones he was already being investigated for.

The "Complément d'enquête" producers claim they did not cooperate with the authorities and were not even informed about the investigation.

Furthermore, they even say they were not given information when they asked for it. "We learned everything from AFP [Agence France-Presse]," they note.

It's worth noting that during his appearance on the TV programme, the hacker claimed to be an activist and member of the notorious Anonymous collective.

In a statement released following a presentation of Anonymous that aired on the same show on February 28, the group writes "you portray us as mere unconscious cybercriminals solely pleasure-minded and after easy money. Take into account that we are not playing, we do not steal, and that we are against any form of violence."

The very nature of the organization allows anyone to act under the banner of Anonymous and call themselves an Anon, but that doesn't mean their actions speak for the majority of the group.