Obama Twitter hacker found guilty

June 26, 2010|Associated Press

PARIS — A court in central France has convicted a young Frenchman accused of infiltrating Twitter and peeping at the account of President Obama, and given him a five-month suspended prison sentence.

The lawyer for Francois Cousteix, whose online name was Hacker Croll, said his client was happy with Thursday evening’s decision by the Clermont-Ferrand court. He risked up to two years in prison and a $37,000 fine for breaking into a data system.

“The verdict is satisfying, given all the media pressure that built up,’’ attorney Jean-Francois Canis said yesterday by telephone.

Cousteix, 24, infiltrated Twitter, and the accounts of Obama and singers Britney Spears and Lily Allen, among other celebrities, but said his motives were good — to warn Internet users about data security.

Prosecutors said Cousteix did not have access to sensitive information about the American president.

Cousteix managed to break into the accounts by searching information that is commonly used for passwords, such as birth dates or pet names, on social networking sites. He has no college degree, and has not had any special computer training.

Twitter said last July that it was the victim of a security breach.

The French prosecutor said Cousteix infiltrated the accounts of several Twitter administrative employees.

He was able to obtain information such as contracts with partners and resumes from job applicants.