20 Oct 2008
President Sarkozy's bank account hacked
Cybercriminals steal money from French president's personal bank account
IT security and control firm Sophos is warning all computer
users to ensure their PCs are properly defended against hackers
following reports that cybercriminals have stolen money from
Nicolas Sarkozy's personal bank account.
According to reports, 'small sums' are said to have been taken
from the French President's bank account after the fraudsters
gained access to Sarkozy's online passwords. Luc Chatel, Secretary
of State for consumer affairs has confirmed that an investigation
is underway. Chatel also said more needed to be done to tighten the
security of internet banking in France.
"The French President is the latest political figure to fall
victim to hackers - last month we reported that Sarah Palin's email
account had been compromised, while Barack
Obama was the subject of a malicious spam campaign," said
Graham Cluley,
senior technology consultant at Sophos. "What's interesting is how
the cyber crooks managed to steal the password to access what
should have been a secure account. This latest incident highlights
the fact that no-one is safe and that everyone should take the
necessary precautions to avoid ending up in the same boat as
Sarkozy and so many others."
The French President is said to have reported the theft last
month, but no one has yet been charged with the crime.
Sophos experts note that online banking fraud is rising rapidly
in both France and the UK. Sophos recommends that all computer
users ensure they are fully defended
against attacks, including spam, phishing and malware.
About Sophos
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing complete security solutions that are simple to deploy, manage, and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, mobile and network security solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.