A 16-year-old adolescent has been detained in France on doubts of managing a malware-for-hire venture.
The unidentified Frenchman, who is recognized by online pseudonyms like “ChatNoir” and “Casquette”, is described as a significant member of the Epsilon hacking group. This group has recently snatched millions of records from entities such as the French IT equipment store LDLC, purloined a database holding information of over 4 million customers from the Sport 2000 group, and seized control of the social networks of broadcasters.
Media organizations that became the targets of Epsilon’s undesirable focus comprised India’s MediaOne TV channel, whose YouTube account was compromised to upload a video by the hackers.
The hackers also penetrated the authorized social media profiles of French TV news network BFM and channel RMC to condemn Russia and ridicule the victims of a terror strike in Moscow.
The group even strangely intruded on a satirical account of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Unclear is the motive behind these hacks, especially the breach of high-profile social media profiles. One hypothesis is that the group was employing these attention-grabbing breaches to promote password-seizing malware they were willing to rent out to potential clients. For example, it was common for the hackers to publicize their Telegram and Discord channels.
The Epsilon hacker group is believed to have created WaveStealer, a rather sophisticated information-gathering malware that has recently surfaced after being put up for sale at a low price on Telegram and Discord.
WaveStealer is frequently disguised as a setup file for video games. It specifically targets web browsers and digital currency wallets, acquiring data that can enable malevolent individuals to break into accounts and embezzle funds.
It certainly seems plausible that a tool like this may have been employed to snatch passwords from social media managers working at TV companies.
According to a document in Le Monde, the Epsilon group declared on its Telegram channel on Tuesday that “ChatNoir” had recently been detained and that the hacking gang was terminating its operations.
All of this sounds much less confident than how Epsilon’s Twitter account portrayed itself in March when it proclaimed:
“We won’t be found or whatever, BFM are not the only ones on the list. Chatnoir x Casquette.”
Epsilon’s Twitter account has been mute since April 9.
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