World leader falls prey to hackers

 

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By Stuart Turton

Posted on 20 Oct 2008 at 11:05

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has become the latest victim of internet fraud, after hackers broke into his personal bank account to steal cash.

French Cabinet spokesperson Luc Chatel admitted the attack to a French radio station, but claimed only "small amounts of cash" were taken. Chatel claimed the president reported the crime last month, and that investigations were under way.

"The swindlers will be punished," he told French radio. "These cases are sufficiently rare that we haven't had to really organise ourselves, but [are] sufficiently serious for us to reflect on how to improve the system."

Experts believe the attack shows nobody is invulnerable.

"What's interesting is how the cyber crooks managed to steal the password to access what should have been a secure account," says Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"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."