Frenchman Arrested for Hijacking Obama's Twitter Account

An unemployed Frenchman who used the online handle Hacker Croll has been arrested by French police for hijacking President Obama's Twitter account, and that of numerous others, according to news service Agence-France Presse.

Photo: Frenchman Arrested for Hijacking Obama's Twitter Account

The arrest, in France's Puy-de-Dome region, came after a monthslong joint investigation by the FBI and French law enforcement authorities, the report said.

The 25-year-old hacker, who was in custody in the city of Clermont-Ferrand, was previously known to local police for "minor scams" totaling about $20,000. He was scheduled to appear in court June 24, according to Computerworld. 

Captain Adeline Champagnat, a senior member of the police cyber crimes unit, said the man gained access to passwords of Twitter administrators and used them to try to break into the accounts of U.S. politicians and stars.

"He didn't get as far as their personal accounts. But he had gained control of Twitter," she told Reuters Television in an interview.

She said the FBI had tipped off the French police in July last year that one or more people were trying to get access to Twitter and had gained control of the social network, Reuters informs.

Police said that he tried to attacked Facebook and email accounts operated by Google and other providers. They added that the suspect had also set up a blog to share his discoveries. However, the suspects never attempted to make any financial profit from his hacking activities, police said.

Police said that the initial statements made by the suspect revealed that he was more driven by the challenge of the job rather the lure of money to carry out the act.

The French authorities were alerted by the FBI about the suspect's presence in the French territory in July 2009, Police said that he tried to attacked Facebook and email accounts operated by Google and other providers. They added that the suspect had also set up a blog to share his discoveries.

However, the suspects never attempted to make any financial profit from his hacking activities, police said. Police said that the initial statements made by the suspect revealed that he was more driven by the challenge of the job rather the lure of money to carry out the act.

The French authorities were alerted by the FBI about the suspect's presence in the French territory in July 2009, Oneindia reported.