The trial of a member of the collective Downsec Belgium, which carried out several cyber attacks in Belgium, will begin on Tuesday at 2 p.m. before the 61st division of the Brussels Criminal Court. BNP Paribas Fortis and the Federal Agency for Nuclear Control (known as the “AFCN”) feature, in particular, amongst the collective’s hacking victims.
The spokesman of the hackers' collective, Downsec Belgium, is cited directly by the Public Prosecutor's Office in the case which, as alluded to earlier, will be heard today at 2 p.m., before the 61st division of the Brussels Criminal Court.
Between April and the beginning of December 2016, several searches had been carried out as part of this case in the Liège and Brussels regions. These had allowed for the seizure of hardware. Hearings involving several suspects took place.
From October 2015 onwards, several public institutions, political parties, companies and press body websites had been victims of I.T. attacks. These had been carried out by the hackers’ collective, Downsec Belgium. BNP Paribas Fortis, the AFCN and the SPF Interior feature amongst these hacking victims.
The collective interfered in the investigation of the suicide of a teenager, known only as Madison, in Herstal at the beginning of February 2016. Witnesses say that this young teenager, aged 14, committed suicide after being mocked by his friends on social media.
Perceiving that the investigation was not progressing quickly enough, Downsec had divulged the names and addresses of individuals described as stalkers in this case. In the process of the investigation, several federal and Walloon authority websites had been accused by Downsec of being responsible for Madison's death.
The collective confirms that it wished, through its hacking activities, to denounce, amongst others, the actions of the government and major banks. The latter started a call for support, via Facebook, for today's case.
The Brussels Times
