Hacker caught

Romanian Police catch hacker Guccifer, who allegedly broke into Colin Powell’s email account

by Romania Insider

Authorities have caught the Romanian hacker, known as Guccifer, who allegedly broke into the email accounts of several high level individuals including former US secretary of state Colin Powell.

Caught in the Romanian city of Arad, where he lived, Marcel Lazăr Lehel, is believed to have also hacked the email accounts of several Romanian individuals, including the head of the Romanian Intelligence Service SRI, George Maior.

He is also believed to have hacked into the accounts of US public figures such as Colin Powell, members of the Bush and Rockefeller families, and officials of the Obama administration.

Romanian authorities collaborated with US services to catch him.

The man, who was taken from his home in Arad, has had previous convictions for similar deeds, including a three-year jail sentence with parole, issues in 2012.

The 40-year old had a similar conviction in 2011, after having hacked the Facebook accounts of several employees of a media group, and made public some of the private contents.

He is also believed to have hacked the accounts of actors Steve Martin and Mariel Hemingway, as well as of a former CIA analyst Laura Manning Johnson.

Among the most famous of his actions was hacking the e-mail of former state secretary Colin Powell, and revealing an alleged affair with Romanian MEP Corina Cretu.

Powell denied the affair with the former presidential spokesman.

The 76-year old Powell, who left the State Department in 2005, stayed in touch with the Romanian woman after leaving his post. Guccifer published a few email exchanges, as well as pictures Cretu had sent Powell.