The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The dark secrets of "Haurus", the DGSI spoiled policeman

2020-01-20T15:34:35.278Z


The investigation into this intelligence policeman suspected of having paid for confidential information on the Darknet has just been closed.


At the beginning of December, a two-page typed letter arrives at the Elysée Palace. This differs from the good thousand letters sent daily to the presidency, by its careful form and, above all, by its signatory: Cédric B. (Editor's note: the first name has been changed) , brigadier assigned to the very sensitive Directorate General of internal security (DGSI). "Mr. President," he wrote, "I am a police officer [...] Driven by financial difficulties, I turned to delinquency to the detriment of all moral sense and I can express my deep regret to you today. And the author asked to resign from the police, considering that he was no longer "worthy" to be part of it.

This is the act of contrition of "Haurus", a 33-year-old police officer who fell out of favor for trading in his services on the Darknet, the illegal counterpart to the Internet. An extraordinary case. On January 16, after sixteen months of investigation, the investigating judge notified the parties of the end of her investigations in this grim affair combining ripou, private detective, swindlers and bandits from Marseille. Cédric B. has been under investigation since September 26, 2018 for a host of offenses: aggravated fraud, misappropriation of the purpose of computer files, false administrative documents, etc.

Incarcerated for a year, he was released under judicial supervision four months ago. Five other suspects - Cédric B.'s companion and four clients - are also under investigation. It is now up to the Nanterre prosecution to take its requisitions for an embarrassing trial for the police institution.

The Darknet, the cave of riches

The “Haurus” affair, which we reveal behind the scenes, took shape in the spring of 2017. Freshly recruited from the J (judicial) division of the DGSI, Cédric B. then worked at the heart of the anti-terrorist machine. His daily life? Investigate terrorist attack projects and jihadist networks. According to his statements in police custody, the agent is introduced to the mysteries of the Darknet for the purposes of a mission on a scam related to terrorism. Fascinated by this ecosystem where we sell everything that is illegal for a few euros and where we talk without filters, he in turn registers on Blackhand or FrenchDeepweb, true crime supermarkets. Then adopts the pseudonym of Haurus, in reference to the ancestral Egyptian divinity ... Already, the cop in him falters, caught up in the darkness.

It must be said that Cédric B. is over-indebted. Travel, outings ... For having led an opulent life with his ex-companion, the crossing guard must pay € 40,000 in consumer loans, in addition to unpaid taxes. This is why he agrees to supply a certain "JojodelaVegas", a notorious Darknet forger, with valid identity card and permit numbers, obtained from illegitimate consultation of police files.

The Haurus logo that the policeman used to prospect on the darkweb./DR

This information is then used to make "duplicates", real false documents. Then the agent goes into large-scale business. He opens his own "shop" - virtual store - and widens his offer: disclosure of private information (doxxing) from a simple index, provision of call listings, identification of the address used by a computer ... And same geolocation of laptop. With it, it is possible to follow anyone thanks to the diversion of the means of surveillance of French intelligence! All for unbeatable prices, from 100 to 300 € per order.

"I find you an identity that suits you in order to completely usurp it", also promises "Haurus" in the presentation of its services. “What is taro (note: price) for the sale of your tech (note: technique) ? Asked one day, an impressed internet user. "Only I can do what I do," retorts the officer, without revealing his quality as a police officer. The official claims to have "good contact". In reality, he obtains his information thanks to police tools: files of criminal records or license plates for example, requisitions to operators under the guise of real investigations…

A spectacular arrest

When the specialized police officers of Ocriest (false papers) and OCLCTIC (cybercrime) stumbled upon his announcements, in early 2018, they were shocked. The investigation of the Paris prosecutor's office first targets facts of ... hacking. Justice indeed wonders if "Haurus" is not a genius hacker who infiltrated the computer networks of the Ministry of the Interior! Some police officers see the hand of one of their colleagues there. But who ?

Newsletter - The essentials of the news

Every morning, the news seen by Le Parisien

I'm registering

Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more

In order for the masks to fall, the investigators set up an intoxication operation, as if to confuse a spy. They place a false order for this: to learn about the legal past of a false "Alexandre Ferreira". However, each search in the police files leaves a trace - the applicant's service number and name. Cédric B. interrogates the databases and this is how he is unmasked. The Nanterre prosecution resumes the investigation because the headquarters of the DGSI is in Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine). And the General Inspectorate of Internal Security (IGSI), the only service authorized to conduct investigations on its secret-defense officials, was seized.

On September 24, 2018, a new scene takes place in the hushed premises of the DGSI, an austere building with a glass facade. Cédric B. is handcuffed to his desk in front of his dumbfounded colleagues. An earthquake for the main French internal intelligence service and its 4,500 agents. The suspect's companion, suspected of having knowledge of his activities, is also arrested in Paris.

Example of messages left by "Haurus" in his "virtual store" ./DR

After denying being "Haurus", the agent quickly confesses. "I think that as a cop, there is a white line that should not be crossed," he said in police custody. I largely crossed it, on the one hand to solve problems of money, on the other hand to bring more security to [my spouse] in his studies. It had to be occasional and it became a gear. […] I couldn't stop. I am not an anarchist or anti-system. "

The sergeant insisted: "I never compromised secret defense, nor jeopardized my investigations. "And estimate his hidden earnings at around € 50,000, paid in cryptocurrencies or via prepaid bank cards. In a search of Cédric B.'s home, the investigators discovered equipment to make false permits. The agent had started to engage in this forger activity after the dismantling of the BlackHand platform.

Customers nicknamed "Jojodelavegas", "Dexx", "Matt"

When questioned, Cédric B.'s colleagues hire a police officer "gifted in information technology", having "the assent of the hierarchy". They knew nothing about his virtual business, despite the fraudulent requisitions that reached the joint email of the investigation group. One had doubts. "He was often on the Internet," said an agent. To me, there were warning signs that some chose not to see. "

After forty-eight hours of hearing, Cédric B. is presented to an examining magistrate. "Having been a terrorist investigator, if I go to prison, I risk my life," warns the deposed police officer. Wasted effort. The former counterterrorism agent is imprisoned in Fleury-Mérogis. Where he finds a detainee he investigated on: Ahmed H., the Iraqi accused of being a member of Daesh and a crime against humanity ... To avoid trouble with the Islamists, Cédric B. presents himself as a police officer inmates jailed for using the seals.

At the same time, the IGSI investigators have identified at least 385 illegitimate requests from Cédric B. On this scale, it is no longer crafts but wholesale trade. His Darknet customers fall in cascade, starting with "JojodelaVegas", a thirty-something RSA domiciled in Bouches-du-Rhône, "Dexx", an unemployed worker in the Lot to whom Cédric B. subcontracted the manufacture of false cards of identity and a certain "Matt", private detective from the Paris region. Which had requested the agent of the DGSI to resolve his cases of adultery or commercial disputes, one of which targeted a collaborator of the hairdresser Frank Provost. But there is something more disturbing. Investigators have found traces of many orders from a very strange "Cvvgold" ...

Account settlements in Marseille

From the prison, where he was imprisoned for drug trafficking, this 51-year-old old robber has stolen a cell phone and learned about new technologies. Via the Darknet, he bought sensitive information from Cédric B., in particular “demarcations” (Editor's note: telephone follow-ups) , on at least three thugs from the great banditry of Marseille. Someone wanted to know everything about their movements. However, of the three thugs monitored from a distance, two were murdered - Jean-Louis Grimaudo and Adil Attar - and the third was the victim of an attempted murder, six days to a few months after the search. However, no formal link has yet been established. Neither Cédric B. nor "Cvvgold", who claims to have received orders from people whose identity he does not know, are being investigated in these proceedings.

During an interrogation before the judge, the brigadier repeated that his motivations were only pecuniary: “I never wanted anyone to die. […] I veiled my face, telling myself that it was none of my business. If he suspected that some of the individuals he was inquiring about were "not choirboys", he said that he was unaware of the purpose of the information provided and that he had always refused to place a target on wiretapping. "You could say: I'm going to stop, " remarked the magistrate. "There was a balance between greed and a feeling of impunity especially when you are in a service like the DGSI, you can believe yourself to be inaccessible, which is clearly not the case", answers, disappointed, Cédric B.

Free today, Cédric B. says he is repentant and aspires to turn the page. "His detention was a real shock, confides a relative. He became aware of the seriousness of what he did and deeply regrets his actions and the harm he did to those around him. When contacted, the lawyer for the DGSI agent declined to speak. "Haurus" was, it seems, not an isolated case: the investigation has since brought to light the troubled activities of a gendarme specializing in the Darknet ...

Source: leparis

All tech articles on 2020-01-20

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.