A "weak" password could become one of the symbols of the Louvre's security flaws. According to 2014 documents obtained by Libération, accessing the museum's video surveillance server required typing the all-too-obvious word: LOUVRE . And, back in the day, a report from the National Cybersecurity Agency warned ten years ago that "whoever controls the Louvre's network can facilitate the theft of artworks."
Now, after the sensational heist worth nearly €90 million , Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau speculates that the culprits aren't criminal masterminds, but rather simple thieves, perhaps without any internal accomplices. Culture Minister Rachida Dati also acknowledged the serious shortcomings, speaking of "a chronic and structural underestimation of the risk of theft."
Great embarrassment , therefore, for the museum's top brass . Meanwhile, the treasure hunt continues. Two weeks after the robbers entered the Apollo Gallery in broad daylight using a freight elevator and then fled on a motorbike with the crown jewels, there is still no trace of the stolen goods. The investigation continues, and four people are in custody after police arrested two new suspects on Saturday, and three others were detained and later released. The search is still underway for an accomplice who may have been part of the gang, as well as for the possible clients. The latest operation by law enforcement involved a couple with children who live in the northern suburbs of Paris, in La Courneuve, who deny all charges. However, DNA from both was found on the freight elevator basket. Prosecutor Beccuau explained that the traces of the 37-year-old man are "significant," while those of the 38-year-old woman could be "transfer DNA," deposited indirectly with objects or people. He is currently charged with organized crime (up to 15 years in prison) and conspiracy to commit organized crime (up to 10 years in prison), while his partner is only charged with complicity in the same crimes. Before the judge, the woman burst into tears and said she feared for her life and that of her children, maintaining her innocence.
The other two arrested were detained on October 25, one at Roissy Airport, where he was departing for Algeria, and the other in Aubervilliers. They reportedly made some partial admissions. The 37-year-old had previously been implicated, along with one of them, in another theft case in Paris in 2015, Le Figaro reports. He had a total of eleven convictions for theft, aggravated theft, traffic offences, and acts of violence. The suspects' profiles are far from the image of organized crime that a robbery of this scale would have suggested . According to Prosecutor Beccuau, speaking to France Info, they appear to be individuals who are little-known in that world, "but who quickly emerge as being involved in extremely serious organized crime."
(Unioneonline)
