Cyberattacks on French Government Ensue After Telegram CEO Arrest

• Hacker groups are preventing user access to websites belonging to French authorities to show their support for Pavel Durov.
• Durov was arrested on August 24 by French authorities.

Russian hackers are staging Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on the French government’s website in response to the August 24 arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov. He was arrested in France for alleged involvement in money laundering, drug trafficking, and more crimes, but no formal charges have been issued yet.

A Slew of DDoS Attacks

A cybersecurity expert, Clément Domingo, known on X as SaxX, posted about ten websites experiencing downtimes due to DDoS attacks under the name ‘opDurov.’ A translated version of the post read, “hacktivist groups have been attacking various French sites since midday.” It included screenshots of websites belonging to the French agricultural union—Confédération Paysanne, the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM), and La Voix Du Nord newspaper. These attacks only prevented users from accessing the websites and did not involve ransomware or malware. However, Domingo warned of further attacks, “I also fear other more virulent/serious attacks than these simple #ddos ! The disclosure of information and the defacement of websites […] are also to be feared.”

Another post emerged on X to claim that the Russian Army’s cyber division took credit for bringing a website down. “Russian Cyber Army claims to have targeted the website of Syane.” Hacker groups from other regions also joined the action. “The hacktivist group “RipperSec” allegedly conducted a #DDOS attack against France’s PriceBank website,” read another X post.

These attacks come in synergy to express their support for Durov. Many feel he is detained unfairly due to his strong stance on free speech and, thus, lack of moderation and enforcement on Telegram. Many more are voicing their concerns about the arrest, as no charges exist.

French President Emmanuel Macron issued a statement about Durov’s arrest on Monday to break silence about the incident. He called it non-political and said it occurred due to an ongoing judicial investigation.

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