Hacker Behind Bars for Revealing Ex-President’s Bathroom Art
- By Ginger Hill
- Jun 12, 2014
Being a snoopy sleuth allows for some interesting discoveries and Marcel Lazar Lehel, known as “Guccifer,” knows this all too well. A former cab driver from Romania, his rise to fame was snagging photos, private emails, security codes and information about George W. Bush’s health by hacking into the ex-President’s AOL email account. However, what the media choose to focus on was Bush’s artwork.
After retiring from the White House, Bush has tried to keep a low-profile, embracing his artistic side by trying his hand at painting. Guccifer’s hack revealed two self-portrait-type paintings found in Bush’s bathroom: one of him in the bathtub from a first person point-of-view looking at his exposed knees and toes as he soaks while the tub fills with water and the other of him in the shower doing a little self-reflection as he gazes into the seemingly fogless bathroom mirror. This may seem a little awkward, unusual or unorthodox, but isn’t that what most art tends to be?
Guccifer used a variety of hacking methods to invade the ex-President’s life, but one popular method allowed him to guess security answers using publicly available information. And, come to find out, Guccifer has victimized a long list of other government and military officials, journalists, diplomats, and even hacked Hillary Clinton’s emails after the Benghazi attack. But, his hacking frenzy has come to a halt, and he has four years in jail to reflect on his hacking behavior.
Image found on The Verge.
About the Author
Ginger Hill is Group Social Media Manager.