French prosecutors confirm arrest of suspected ZeroBytes hacker behind tax cyberattack
French prosecutors arrested an 18-year-old suspected ZeroBytes member tied to a tax authority breach exposing data of 600,000 people.
French authorities arrested an 18-year-old, alias 'ChatNoir,' in the Paris region on Aug. 18 and placed him in pretrial detention two days later over ZeroBytes attacks; a second suspect under 16 was arrested Aug. 26 and released. ZeroBytes claimed attacks on French government agencies, schools and companies starting July 16, including the DGFiP tax authority, which disclosed an August breach affecting data of more than 600,000 people. The suspect was previously under formal investigation for the 2024 Free telecom breach affecting over 19 million customers and for X account takeovers of BFM-TV and RMC linked to the Epsilon collective. Charged offenses carry up to 10 years in prison and a 300,000-euro fine.