The Hacker Who Revealed George Bush's Paintings to the World Was Just Arrested in Romania

This is one hacker we don't want to see brought to justice.

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With the rise of subversive organizations like Anonymous and WikiLeaks, the revolutionary impulse of hackers has been seen as a threat to national security. Wherever you stand on the freedom of information, however, there's at least one hacker most of us can get behind.

Meet Guccifer, the hacker who dove into George Bush's email and came up with the former president's hidden talent—painting.

Thanks to Guccifer, last year the whole world was privy to Bush's strange self-portraits of him in a shower along with paintings of dogs, cats, and fruit. Even Bush seemed to be relieved that his secret was out. The president was spotted showing off his mad art skillz on an iPad to Hillary Clinton in December. 

Now Guccifer's gig is up. Romanian authorities have identified him as Marcel Lazăr Lehel and have arrested him. Lehel is being held in Arad, Romania

Guccifer's other targets include Colin Powell, various public figures in Romania, and at least one former CIA official. So, maybe he's not the hacker hero we would like to believe.

Still, it's hard not to admire Guccifer's style. Before he was caught, he procured the script for the season four finale of Downton Abbey.

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[via Slate]

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