Youngsters arrested for hacking World Cup-related websites

A contemporary way to protest against the World Cup was discovered, and led to four adolescents from 15 to 17 years old being arrested and their equipment seized, including computers, external hard drives, flash drives and DVD’s, on Friday (Jun 26), as part of a police-led operation in Bahia tackling electronic crimes (“GME”). Since they are under age, they were let go, but might be imposed socio-educational sanctions.

According to Charles Leão, the police commissioner in charge of the case, the operation came across three groups of hackers while they shared data and collaborated in attacks against websites owned by World Cup sponsors, publishing protest messages. He believes that behind their doings “there was no flag, no politics connected with any party. Some youngsters were having fun, finding out how vulnerable the pages were.” Leão further reports that, during the testimonies heard at the police station, the minors seemed regretful.

A computer belonging to one of the boys from the outskirts of Salvador, capital city of Bahia, was used for hacking the websites of NASA, Brazilian governmental agencies and World Cup sponsors. The youth’s mother and siblings, who share the computer with him, were not even close to suspecting that not only could he change websites, but also had, together with other youths from the same city, invaded approximately 1,500 sites over the course of one year.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira