French Cops Nail Man Who Hacked Obama Twitter

Unemployed, 25-year-old Frenchman did it on a bet
By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 24, 2010 6:52 PM CDT

An unemployed 25-year-old was arrested today by authorities in his native France for hacking the Twitter account of President Obama—apparently on a bet, sources tell AFP. No identity was given for the man, who lives with his parents and goes by “Hacker Croll”—the nom-de-Web of the person who got his hands on Twitter employee data last year.

“He explained how he did it. He’s not a genius,” a source says of Croll’s latest move, which resulted in a joint manhunt by the FBI and French police and could land him in jail for 2 years. Adds a prosecutor: “He was a young man spending time on the Internet. He acted as a result of a bet, out of the defiance of the hacker. He is the sort who likes to claim responsibility for what he has done.”
(More President Obama stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X