French Government Websites Under DDoS Attack

The protest against the arrest of Telegram Founder and CEO Pavel Durov by French officials has taken a new turn.

Government websites are now under attack, allegedly by Russian hackers.

This is an unusual occurrence for a foreign government to face such a significant cyber assault.

The affected websites include the official government site that archives current laws and regulations, as well as the platform of the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM).

The sites were down due to denial of service (DDoS) attacks, displaying warnings that connections were not secure, effectively blocking access.

French officials are working to restore these sites, but the duration of the outage remains uncertain.

Cybersecurity sources, such as Entropia Intel, speculate that the attack may be an act of revenge, likely in response to Durov's arrest.

French President Emmanuel Macron Claims Durov's Arrest is Not Political

The escalating reactions to the arrest of Durov could not be overlooked, even by French President Emmanuel Macron.

On 26 August, President Macron addressed the mounting criticism regarding Durov's arrest on X.

He clarified that the arrest was solely based on a judicial investigation, dismissing any suggestions of political interference.

He emphasized that the responsible officials would make the necessary decisions.

President Macron reaffirmed France's dedication to freedom of speech and expression, underscoring that the resolution of Durov's case would be determined by France's independent judiciary, not by political entities.

This statement drew significant criticism from the crypto community and free speech advocates, with former VanEck director for digital asset strategy, Gabor Gurbacs, joining the chorus of dissent.

Durov Facing 12 Charges Amidst Yet Another Detention Extension

After his arrest, a French magistrate has prolonged Durov's detention for up to 96 hours to facilitate further questioning.

During this time, French authorities will decide whether to charge him or release him from custody.

The arrest of the Telegram CEO is seen as highly politically charged.

Even Russian officials were denied access to Durov, illustrating the power dynamics at play between the West and Russia.

The extension of his detention highlights the severity of the allegations against him, with Durov facing around 12 different charges including:

- Complicity in operating an online platform to facilitate illegal transactions within an organised group.

- Refusal to provide, upon request by competent authorities, necessary information or documents for legal interceptions.

- Complicity in storing pornographic images of minors.

- Distribution, offering, or making available pornographic images of minors within an organised group.

- Complicity in drug-related offenses, including the acquisition, possession, and sale of narcotic substances.

- Complicity in supplying, selling, or distributing equipment, tools, programs, or data intended to illegally access or damage automated data systems without legitimate reasons.

- Complicity in fraud perpetrated by an organised group.

- Criminal conspiracy to commit a crime or offense punishable by at least five years imprisonment.

- Money laundering of proceeds from an organised group's criminal activities.

- Provision of cryptology services for confidentiality without proper certification.

- Provision of cryptology tools not exclusively for authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration.

- Importation of cryptology tools not exclusively for authentication or integrity monitoring without prior declaration.

The outcome for the Telegram CEO remains uncertain.