Oi there, my mate! Fancy a quick chinwag about all the hoopla happening the world of cybersecurity? Make yourself some tea and settle in, because it’s quite a tale.
So, here of the plights of our French pal – Sébastien Raoult, aka “Sezyo Kaizen”? Well around a year ago, he was nicked in Morocco while returning from a holiday and was carted off – not back home to France, but all the way across the pond to the United States. We won’t deny that it was an eyebrow-raising event, given that he was accused of being tangled up with a group known as ShinyHunters.
To get you up to pace, the Yanks clobbered him with two charges – Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Aggravated Identity Theft. As a result, he ended up facing a stretch of 36 months inside. Now, 12 of these months were because of the wire fraud charge, but the real stinger came with the 24 for the identity theft rap. At the beginning of this year, whispers were going around that with the normal procedures in place, Sébastien could have been tucking into his baguette back home in just under a year.
Now, here’s where things get a bit rum. Word on the grapevine is that our Mr. Raoult has indeed left the U.S. prison, but not for the expected shepherd’s watch. No, it seems he’s found himself back in France, and not for a welcome home party, but rather another date with the judge.
The specific charges aren’t widely known yet, but our folks at Le Monde suggest that France might be accusing Sébastien of flogging off software. Not just any old software, mind you, but the kind that can pick out weak spots in email servers. Apparently, these were the very servers of Amazon Web Services, the digital giant, and were exploited to gain control.
Philippe Ohayon, the defence lawyer for Raoult, wasn’t too chuffed with this turn of events. In his chat with Paris Match, he quipped, “After having sacrificed him to the American justice system, which fortunately took things in stride and understood the abnormality of this situation, now the French justice system has issued an arrest warrant, as if it were welcome. We had filed a complaint for high treason a year ago.”
Thus, it appears our mate Sébastien’s troubles are far from over and he might be in for another spot of bird. However, there’s nothing concrete about whether any other previous suspects who were grilled in July 2022 might also be in hot water. All we know is that so far, Raoult seems to be the only one the French government is seriously going after.
So, that’s the latest saga of Monsieur Raoult and the quagmire of the ShinyHunters. Just goes to show you, it’s a bit of a sticky wicket, this cybersecurity business. But don’t fret – we’ve got our ear to the ground. We’ll surely be back with more nuggets from the world of cybersecurity and healthcare! Until then, stay savvy and safe, ya hear?
by Parker Bytes
