Alleged British hacker in jail in France offers to help with police data breach
Recent attack targeted police files
Kai West was arrested in France in February. Photo for illustration.
frank60/Shutterstock
An alleged British hacker currently in jail in France has offered to help after French police suffered an unprecedented data breach .
Kai West, believed to have previously been a member of hacking website ‘BreachForums’ (where someone has published a statement claiming responsibility for the cyber attack), said he could “offer his technical expertise” to police to help prevent any further attacks, reports BFMTV.
The cyber attack, which took place on the night of Thursday, December 11, targeted police files related to France’s wanted persons list and criminal processing records, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said.
He added the full extent of the breach was not yet clear.
The information of around 16.4 million people is reported to be listed in the files. The hackers may have also accessed email accounts and contact information of police investigators.
Kai West, 25, was arrested in Dunkirk on February 22, 2025 and is currently in pre-trial detention in La Santé prison in Paris.
Believed to have previously been a member of BreachForums with the pseudonym IntelBroker, he is accused by French and US authorities of having carried out dozens of cyberattacks against agencies including Europol and the Accor group, then selling the stolen data on the forum.
Other victims listed in the US indictment include a telecommunications company, a healthcare provider and an internet services provider.
The US is seeking his extradition, citing at least $25 million in damages for dozens of victims worldwide.
In a statement claiming responsibility for the latest attack, it was claimed that the attack was performed in retaliation for the arrest of five BreachForums hackers in France this year, among them Mr West.
Mr West, through his lawyers, distanced himself from the attack.
"Kai West reaffirms his availability to any investigative service and cybersecurity experts to contribute his technical expertise to understanding this intrusion, as well as to preventing any further attacks," they said.
