Mystery Deepens: Is The Real Shinyhunters Leader Behind Bars?

The Case That Keeps Us Guessing

On October 14, Juan Branco, the lawyer for the man accused by France of being the mastermind behind the hacker group ShinyHunters, took center stage at a press conference. Although the suspect's name remains under wraps, France maintains he is the leader, while Branco insists otherwise. The press conference, reported by Valéry Rieß-Marchive from LeMagIT, presented a range of arguments from Branco in defense of his client.

Branco passionately argued that those arrested were young, technically gifted individuals who could better serve their country rather than face imprisonment for up to 20 years. He accused Kering and LVMH of pressuring the French authorities to make the arrests and hinted at FBI involvement in directing French law enforcement efforts. However, he fell short of proving any rights violations by the FBI. A key point in Branco’s defense was that attacks by ShinyHunters continued even after his client’s arrest, suggesting his client isn't the group’s leader.

Is The Defense Plausible?

This argument raises eyebrows, as groups like ShinyHunters can persist even with members behind bars. The continuity of attacks doesn't necessarily disprove leadership. The defense's logic prompted a re-evaluation of earlier assumptions about the group and its leadership.

“If ShinyHunters played this site, I tip my hat to them on how well they planned and consistently played this.”

The twist in the tale came when it was suggested that someone posing as "Shinycorp" continued to communicate online, despite claims of the leader's arrest. This leads to a reevaluation: if that person was still active, who was really captured?

Speculation and the Unknown

There is speculation that ShinyHunters might have fabricated evidence to create a false narrative. Alleged chat logs provided to DataBreaches aimed to show ongoing negotiations with Kering post-arrest. Yet, these were unverified, and Kering denied such talks. While a BTC payment was cited as proof, its origin remains uncertain.

With no concrete details from France or the FBI, the question of whether the real leader sits in a French cell remains unanswered. DataBreaches now adopts a watchful waiting approach, acknowledging the possibility of being misled. Until more information surfaces, the true identity of the ShinyHunters leader remains cloaked in mystery.