German authorities have identified Angela Merkel’s hacker

Just when cyber-espionage was doing so much to turn the image of lone hoodie-wearing hackers around!

German authorities have discovered the identity of the hacker that breached the accounts of hundreds of politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, and other public figures, the New York Times reports. 

The culprit? A 20-year-old malcontent; a student, still in high school (which is not uncommon for 20 year olds in Germany), who lives with his parents.

The young man admitted to the breach, and said it was motivated by frustration with the government. His identification has put to rest fears that a foreign power was behind the attack.

Over the last month, the personal data of rappers, vloggers, journalists, and finally politicians began appearing online. That included contact information, private communications, and more. The release gained widespread attention on January 3, after a popular YouTube account was hacked to spread the information.

The hacker stole and published the data from members of five of the six German political parties with seats in parliament — all except the group farthest to the right. German officials did not comment on the hacker’s political views.

Despite compromising the security of the highest powered officials in the land, the hacker likely won’t face much jail time. After initially arresting him, authorities determined he wasn’t a flight risk and released him. And because he is under 21 — still a legal minor in Germany — the Wall Street Journal reports that he probably won’t be punished with the up to three years in prison he might have faced had he been a legal adult.

Authorities did determine that the hacker acted alone. The discovery is notable because it shows that the German attacks did not come from a malicious coordinated state effort, as Germany and the United States both experienced in 2016.

Instead, the hacker appears to be just that — a hacker. We hope his parents kept his basement warm for him.