Romanian police catch Guccifer
The hacker known as Guccifer has been caught. Marcel Lazăr Lehel, 40, was arrested at his home in Arad, Romania. Guccifer was wanted for hacking into the private email accounts of powerful political figures such as Colin Powell, George W. Bush and major celebrities. Romania’s Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism arrested Lehel at home last night without incident.
Guccifer’s most famous hack in 2012 was against Hillary Clinton’s close aide, Sidney Blumenthal. He released confidential information regarding the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi. The hacker also struck against former President George W. Bush, releasing private images of Bush’s amateur paintings. The motivation for his hacks changed from target to target. He has claimed he was striking out against the Illuminati, the U.S. Federal Reserve and Hollywood.
This arrest comes on the heels of other high-profile computer crime arrests. In the past week, arrests have been made in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Texas with individuals involved in the Target Black Friday data breach. It seems that law enforcement has increased the level of cooperation between international agencies.
