French Gov Sites Hacked Following the Arrest of Telegram CEO

Following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in France on Saturday, many government websites were hacked on Monday. The sites went offline in a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. The hackers, believed to be a Russian group, targeted multiple websites. 

Cyber Attack Mode On

According to a crypto analyst’s post on X, cyberattacks targeted multiple French websites, and the attack was linked to pro-Russian hackers.

The affected websites include the Administrative Court of Paris, the French Health Department, and the Court of Cassation. Immediately after the cyberattacks, the Judicial Court of Paris released a statement listing the charges against Durov. 

12 Charges on Telegram CEO

The Paris prosecutor’s office listed around 12 charges against Durov. The release included a large number of ‘complicities,’ covering fraud, minor pornographic images, money laundering, sale of narcotics, etc. Additionally, Durov was accused of not cooperating with the government’s requests to intercept information or documents and not providing cryptology services without certification.

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‘Durov’s arrest is not political’

On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron issued a public statement on his X profile highlighting that the French government is deeply committed to freedom of expression and communication. He added that Durov’s arrest is part of an ongoing judicial investigation and not a political decision.

Macron’s statement enraged many in the crypto community and free speech activists. It led to widespread calls for Durov’s release, including from industry giants like Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Elon Musk. The French prosecutor’s office also released an update stating that French law enforcement officials can detain Telegram’s CEO until August 28.

Situation of Toncoin

Toncoin, a Telegram token, has declined since Pavel Durov’s arrest. At the time of press, Toncoin is trading at $5.41, down by 3.76%. The market cap has descended to $13.6 billion, with a 24-hour trading volume of $955,883,852.