The suspect claimed to be annoyed by recent statements by some of those involved in leaking information
According to reports of cybersecurity and digital forensics specialists from the International Institute of Cyber Security, a 20-year-old man has confessed to being the author of the cyberattack against over a hundred German politicians, a campaign in which the individual leaked some confidential details of politicians using a Twitter account.
The news has been disseminated a few hours after the investigators of the Federal Police office in Wiesbaden, Germany, raided the house of an individual of 19 years allegedly linked to the alleged hacker.
On 6 January in the afternoon, the German police agency, with the help of cybersecurity experts, registered the suspect’s house as part of an investigation into the case of espionage and leaking of personal data of politicians, journalists and public figures. The suspect would have been temporarily arrested, but released the following day for lack of evidence.
“During the interrogation, the defendant stated that he acted alone in this campaign; so far, there is no evidence to suggest a third party’s involvement. As for his motives, the defendant stated that he carried out these attacks for the inconvenience caused by the public statements made by the persons involved in this unauthorized disclosure,” said the individual.
Preliminary research by German cybersecurity experts concludes that the suspect used a hijacked Twitter account, making his Internet connections using a VPN service to hide his identity. The German police seized the computers and any storage units owned by the suspect for further investigations.
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