French authorities have arrested 22 people suspected of running an international hacking gang.

According to French media reports, the alleged hackers were arrested in Paris, southern and central France following a four-month investigation involving over 90 members of the police force.

It is reported that the gang came to prominence after bragging about their activities on a web forum.

The hackers face a maximum of five years in jail if found guilty of destroying data and degrading network performance at the affected companies.

Official statements report that 34 businesses in France, Iceland and Russia were affected by the hacking, but at present only seven firms have registered a formal complaint.

"One of the disturbing facts about this story is that 16 of the 22 people arrested are under 18 years old," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

"While the authorities must be applauded for investigating cases like this, we should also question what is going wrong with our education of young people to make them think that computer hacking might be an acceptable way to behave.

"More has to be done to teach children in school how to use their computer skills responsibly."