An investigation published by Franceinfo revealed the existence of Searcher, a website that promises its users that they can “find anyone in a few seconds.” And this, thanks to the “compilation of data from breaches,” according to the National Commission on Informatics and Liberties (CNIL).
According to cybersecurity experts interviewed by Franceinfo and BFMTV, these data stolen by various hackers from different organizations were already available on the “dark web,” scattered and at varying prices. Searcher is moreover not the first platform to centralize these data, which can thus be made available to a larger number of internet users, more or less ill-intentioned.
The judiciary, notified by the government
Speaking to BFMTV, the minister in charge of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Affairs said she had reported Searcher to the French judiciary under Article 40 of the Penal Procedure Code. This provision allows Anne Le Hénanff to bring to the attention of a prosecutor a “crime” as a “delit” discovered in the context of “the exercise of her duties.” An investigation should therefore be quickly opened by the public prosecutor, forcing the site offline.
