Quebec woman ordered off Internet

Remote control of computers alleged

• A 27-year-old Quebec woman has been ordered off the Internet after the RCMP charged her with hacking into computers so she could intimidate people, including several children.

Valérie Gignac, a resident of Saint-Alphonse-de-Rodriguez northeast of Montreal, appeared before a judge at the courthouse in Joliette on Wednesday to face four charges. She is accused of fraudulently using a computer and committing mischief.

The charges refer to a period near the start of July 2012.

Gignac was released after agreeing to eight conditions, including that she cancel her Internet service within 48 hours. She also cannot frequent Internet cafés.

She is alleged to have used malicious software known as a remote administration tool (RAT) that allows cybercriminals to spy on victims by taking control of the webcam on an infected computer.

“The investigation shows that the suspect used various methods to harass her victims, including by eavesdropping on private conversations and by communicating with victims through the speakers of their infected computers,” the RCMP said.

“She also frightened her victims by taking over control of their computers and by logging on to extreme pornography websites.

Her victims included underage children both in Canada and abroad.”

Const. Philippe Gravel, the lead investigator with the RCMP’s Integrated Technological Crime Unit, said police stumbled upon the alleged hacker while investigating another case.

They noticed a woman from Quebec was reading an online forum for hackers and decided to focus their attention on her.

The investigation began in March and was conducted with help from the Sûreté du Québec.

“She’s well known. She’s been known for a while in those (hacker) forums,” Gravel said, adding that computer equipment seized on Wednesday could show how the computers were infected and then taken over remotely.

“So far, we don’t know that,” he said.

He added that as of Wednesday, the investigation had yet to show whether Gignac was seeking financial gain through her alleged hacking.

The RCMP alleges the accused was so brazen that she posted videos of her handiwork on YouTube “in which she can be seen taking over control of infected computers.”