Famous Mexican hacker assasinated

Famous Mexican computer hacker turned IT security operator, Paul “MegaByte” Robles (31), was assassinated earlier this month, shot five times whilst having breakfast at a Guadalajara cafe with his father. The police are still hunting his murderer.

Robles reportedly had an arrogant, braggart and dismissive nature which created many enemies; his boasts of wealth, success and sexual prowess on social media sites resulted in a flood of posts – not all of them eulogies – on social media as news of his death broke.

Days before his death threats against his life had been posted, although these may have simply been angry comments by his critics

Roble graduated from hacking to forming his own IT security company, titled Hacking Mexico and claimed to provide training for agents from Mexico’s federal Attorney General’s Office and the National Security and Investigation Centre. He created a high profile in the IT industry in Mexico, speaking at conferences and in media interviews.

However, he was also a controversial personality who was accused of bullying, humiliating and defrauding other members of the hacking community, and there were allegations that his claims of holding a Master’s degree were false.

One industry insider told reporters that despite high tensions between members of Mexico’s hacking community, “one thing everyone had in common was that they hated MegaByte.”

Following the shooting, Guadalajara’s attorney general, Eduardo Almaguer, told local reporters that a number of complaints had been filed against Robles in Mexico City for cybercrimes. However he declined to provide details.

One of Robles’ employees at Hacking Mexico defended his former boss, saying that he had deliberately crafted an egocentric and sarcastic online persona on social networks in a bid to provoke controversy and generate free publicity for the business. In real life he was quite different and a good friend, he said.

The insider speculated that the assassination could be linked to an educational course Robles was planning on the vulnerability of online casinos to hacking and how to counter such assaults.

Robles’ murder formed part of a wave of violence that swept Guadalajara at the beginning of December, with 23 people slain across the city over two days in what analysts said could be an underworld power struggle.

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