Teenage hacker suspected of violating 2,000 sites, including US Navy

[InfoSec News <isn () c4i org>]

http://www.dailycamera.com/bdc/national_intl_business/article/0,1713,BDC_2464_2101823,00.html

By Frederic Lepinay, 
Associated Press
July 11, 2003

LILLE, France - A French high school student is being investigated on
suspicion of breaking into and defacing some 2,000 Web sites -
including that of the U.S. Navy, police said Thursday.

The 17-year-old boy, who went by the pseudonym "DKD," hacked into
sites and often replaced their welcome pages with political slogans,
said Eric Voulleminot of the Regional Service of Judicial Police in
Lille.

The teenager, who was not identified by police, often wrote messages
in favor of the Palestinians or against U.S. military policy and is
accused of attacking sites in France, Britain, Australia and the
United States, Voulleminot said.

The attacks on American sites occurred mostly during the U.S.-led
invasion of Iraq, he said. The boy allegedly concentrated on
government office and military sites, including that of the U.S. Navy.

Suspected of attacks over 14 months, he was arrested June 24 at his
parents' home outside of Paris and released under surveillance. But he
is being investigated in Lille, 125 miles north of Paris, where
officials accuse him of hacking into the Pas-de-Calais prefectural Web
site.

Investigators think his goal was showing off technical skill rather
than spreading a political message.

"It's difficult to gauge his level of political militancy,"  
Voulleminot said. "This young man, who operated alone, did not belong
to any political group."

The probe was launched in April after the prefectural office's page
was damaged. Anti-hacker specialists in Lille worked with U.S.  
investigators who "were worried about the boy's work," Voulleminot
said.

The suspect faces a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a
fine $50,850.



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