News Highlights:
- The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France led to a series of cyberattacks by hacktivists, targeting French websites in protest of his detention.
- French authorities justified Durov’s arrest by citing Telegram’s lack of moderation and cooperation with law enforcement, which they claimed allowed criminal activities.
The arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France over the weekend triggered a wave of cyberattacks on French websites by hacktivists protesting his detention, reports Digital TimesNG.
French authorities stated that Durov’s arrest was due to Telegram’s insufficient moderation and failure to cooperate with law enforcement, which they claimed facilitated crimes like drug trafficking, distribution of child sexual abuse material, and fraud, according to the BBC.
The law enforcement action was met with a wave of online backlash, with many calling the move an affront to internet privacy and freedom of speech.
Shortly after Durov’s arrest at Le Bourget Airport in Paris, numerous hacktivists began to publicize their intention to retaliate, calling on their followers to target certain French websites in a cyberattack campaign referred to as “opDurov.”
On Sunday, cybersecurity consultant Clément Domingo, who goes by SaxX online, posted information about 10 sites affected by distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks as part of opDurov, including screenshots of four sites apparently made inaccessible due to the attacks.
These sites included the official French government site for information on public services, the website of French newspaper La Voix du Nord, the website of the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM) in France, and the site of French agricultural union Confédération Paysanne.
SaxX noted that the attacks appeared to be limited to DDoS disruptions rather than attacks involving data exfiltration or ransomware.
As of Monday afternoon, the Public Service, La Voix du Nord and Confédération Paysanne sites appeared to be back up, but SC Media was not able to access the ANSM website.
Multiple hacker groups appear to be involved in attacks targeting French websites, using the hashtags #FreeDurov and #opDurov.
The Russian Cyber Army Team, also known as the People’s Cyber Army, announced over the weekend that it would be targeting the ANSM website, and invited “other Russian hacker movements” to participate in a “week of attacks on French internet portals” in response to Durov’s arrest.
The Russian Cyber Army Team also claimed responsibility for a DDoS attack on the website of Syane, a public body that manages energy and digital network infrastructure for the Haute-Savoie region of France. The site appeared to be online again as of Monday afternoon.
