"Police Arrest Trio in Multimillion-Dollar Extortion Case"

Three Dutch men have recently been arrested on suspicion of participating in a major cyber-extortion campaign affecting tens of millions of victims.  According to Dutch Police, a 21-year-old from Zandvoort is the prime suspect, alongside a 21-year-old from Rotterdam and an 18-year-old.  An investigation into their alleged activities began in March 2021 and uncovered evidence of attacks on thousands of organizations, both domestic and global.  The police noted that after gaining initial access to targeted companies and stealing sensitive customer information, the men allegedly extorted their victims by threatening to destroy their “digital infrastructure” or to leak the info publicly, similar to ransomware actors.  However, the police claimed that “in many cases,” the hackers sold the stolen data even after receiving a ransom payment.  Ransom demands were in the $106,000–$740,000 range, with one report claiming the prime suspect made as much as $2.6m over the past few years.  The police noted that among the data stolen by the trio were names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, bank account numbers, credit card details, passwords, license plate numbers, national ID numbers, and passport data.  Among those breached were hospitality firms, training institutes, online stores, software companies, and even social media providers.  

Infosecurity reports: "Police Arrest Trio in Multimillion-Dollar Extortion Case"