From Iceland — Hacktivist Gluggagægir Arrested On Suspicion Of Espionage

Words by

Nanna Árnadóttir

@nannaarnadottir

Photo by

K-Fai Steele

The tenth Yule Lad, Gluggagægir (Window Peeper), was arrested last night on suspicion of espionage.

Gluggagægir was apprehended after police received reports of him loitering outside Alþingi, peeking through windows.

Gluggagægir has spent centuries peeping through people’s windows, curious about the going’s on inside and occasionally stealing shiny trinkets. His arrest record for acts of voyeurism is several pages long.

Gluggagægir’s belongings, seized in the arrest, included his laptop which police have said contained troubling material regarding national and international security.

“We cannot give you any information regarding the case, which is currently under investigation,” a police spokesperson told the Grapevine. “What we are able to confirm is that Gluggagægir is in police custody and therefore will be unable to deliver gifts and potatoes tonight.”

In recent years Gluggagægir has become known in Iceland’s ethical hacking community under the screen name GGizz. During this time there have been rumours – all unconfirmed – that he has hacked into a number of international government agencies and multinational conglomerates.

My Screen Tan is ON POINT! #Winning #GGizzTakingCareOfBiz

— Gluggagægir (@GGizzPowerz) December 18, 2014

Gluggagægir’s twitter account indicates that he supports the Icelandic Pirate Party, founded in 2012 by MP Birgitta Jónsdóttir and a number of prominent internet activists.

Píratar 4eva #GGizz — Gluggagægir (@GGizzPowerz) December 18, 2014

Last year, a Pirate Party member proposed a bill that would immediately grant Edward Snowden Icelandic citizenship. This year, Snowden revealed that Iceland was amongst the many countries the US National Security Agency (NSA) was authorised to conduct spying operations against.

While this does not necessarily mean that the NSA did, in fact, spy on Iceland, the civil liberties implications were troubling to some.

Among other things, Gluggagægir’s twitter account also indicates a strong fan boy affection for Wikileaks cofounder Julian Assange.

ASSANGE IS GOD #GGizzLOVES

— Gluggagægir (@GGizzPowerz) December 18, 2014

The police have had a warrant out for Gluggagægir’s arrest since last year when he was suspected of hacking into the Ministry of Interior’s intranet and downloading classified files. Although there is no physical proof of his involvement, his tweet shortly after the incident has been considered as a claim of responsibility.