Four hackers are arrested in Brazil for attacking a thousand phones, including that of a minister

The Brazilian Federal Police arrested four people for alleged attack on 1,000 mobile phones belonging to several government offices, including that of the Minister of the Economy, Paulo Guedes.

The police inspector João Vianey Xavier Filho He added that the group had infiltrated the email applications of nearly 1,000 different mobile phone numbers, but refused to answer questions or give many details at a press conference held in Brasilia on Wednesday. One of the arrested suspects had an account on his phone named Guedes, said Xavier, which represents "a serious hint" that he was one of the victims of the "Guedes" claim. attack..

Police opened an investigation into alleged hacker activity after exchanging SMS messages between the Minister of Justice, Sergio Moroand the main prosecutors of the Lava Jato operation. Prior to this position, Mr. Moro held the position of Judge Specializing in Anti-Corruption Cases.

Lava Jato, polarization and political crisis

The publication of these private exchanges on the news site L & # 39; interception shook the Brazilian government, raising doubts about the impartiality of Moro, who condemned the former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in prison for corruption and money laundering. Moro questioned the authenticity of the published material and also claimed that the texts showed no crime and that he had been the victim of a hacker attack. But leaks have undermined the popularity rating of one of the most popular characters in the president's administration. Jair Bolsonaro, and the government's allies have threatened Glenn Greenwald, the American journalist who founded The Intercept, with his arrest or expulsion from Brazil.

In the court order dictating the arrest of the four suspects, Judge Vallisney de Souza Oliveira wrote that hackers had accepted the application of messages. Telegram of Moro, with two judges and two federal policemen. The judge too ordered Google, Microsoft and Apple to provide suspicious IP addresses and registration data, as well as all files and data stored in the cloud.

Glenn Greenwald: "Judge Moro felt that he was above the law"

Two of the suspects have received hundreds of thousands of reais on their bank account in recent months, while their monthly income was only 5,000 reais. The judge requested a follow-up of the funds received in order to discover possible inciters of the attack.