Recently, cyberattacks planned by a Russian hacker group took down a lot of French government websites. The Administrative Court of Paris, the French Health Department, and the Court of Cassation are some of the sites that are being attacked.
These attacks, known as denial-of-service (DDoS) events, began after Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, was arrested in France on August 24. According to the first reports, the hacks are a response to Durov’s detention. Even though there were problems, most government services have started to work again, and a special crisis center is trying to get everything back to normal.
French President Emmanuel Macron said that Durov’s arrest had nothing to do with politics. He stressed that France valued free speech and promised that Durov’s case would be handled by the country’s independent courts. But people in the crypto community and people who support free speech, like Elon Musk, co-founder of Ethereum, and other famous people, have criticized this reaction and said they are worried about what it means for digital freedoms in Europe.
As of August 26, Durov has not been officially charged with any crime by the French government. The investigation into his possible participation in a platform-related crime is still going on, but he has not been specifically accused of any wrongdoing.
