Tag Archive for: Suspect

Prolific Spanish Teen Hacking Suspect Arrested

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Spanish police have arrested a 19-year-old who they claim represents a national security threat due to the magnitude of the cyber-attacks he has conducted.

An investigation into Jose Luis Huertas (aka “Alcasec”) began after he allegedly hacked the national council of the judiciary (CGPJ) and tax agency, and stole data on over half a million Spaniards.

The individual subsequently created a database filled with this information, including personal data and bank account numbers, for onward sale to cyber-criminals, according to the Spanish National Police (Policia Nacional).

Huertas is also accused of building a de facto search engine – dubbed “Udyat,” or the “Eye of Horus” – to sell large volumes of stolen data.

Read more on teenaged hackers: UK Teen Arrested on Computer Misuse Charges.

The teen even boasted in a YouTube video of having access to the personal data of 90% of Spaniards, according to the police. Although the figure may have been an exaggeration, the Policia National claimed that the volume of data stolen by Huertas was so significant that it made him a threat to national security.

Officers claimed that he led a life of luxury funded by this cyber-criminality, including going on expensive holidays, visiting high-end restaurants and wearing luxury brands.

Huertas allegedly laundered the proceeds of crime through cryptocurrency mixer services, although specialist investigators were still able to trace some of the funds.

When officers searched Huertas’s home and other premises, they seized a large volume of cash, documents, digital media, a motorcycle and a high-end vehicle.

Teenaged cyber-criminals are more common than one might suspect. Last year two British teenagers were charged with hacking offenses in relation to the infamous Lapsus$ extortion group. A teenager was also behind the much-publicized 2015 TalkTalk data breach.

Last year the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) claimed that children as young as nine have been able to launch DDoS attacks thanks to readily available online services.

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Dutch suspect locked up for alleged personal data megathefts – Naked Security

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The Public Prosecution Service in the Netherlands [Dutch: Openbaar Ministerie] has just released information about an unnamed suspect arrested back in December 2022 for allegedly stealing and selling personal data about tens of millions of people.

The victims are said to live in countries as far apart as Austria, China, Columbia, the Netherlands itself, Thailand and the UK.

Apparently, the courts have taken a strict approach to this case, effectively keeping the arrest secret from late 2022 until now, and not allowing the suspect out on bail.

According to the Ministry’s report, a court order about custody was made in early December 2022, when the authorities were given permission to keep the suspect locked up for a further 90 days, meaning that they can hold him until at least March 2023 as work on his case continues.

The suspect is being investigated for multiple offences: possessing or publishing “non-public” data, possessing phishing software and hacking tools, computer hacking, and money laundering.

The prosecutors claim that he laundered close to half-a-million Euros’ worth of cryptocurrency during 2022, so we’re assuming that the court considered him a flight risk, decided that if released he might be able to destroy evidence and, presumably, thought that he might try to warn others in the cybercrime forums where he’d been active to start covering their tracks, too.

Governmental breach?

Intriguingly, the investigation was triggered by the appearance on a cybercrime forum of a multi-million record stash of personal data relating to Austrian residents.

Those data records, it seems, turned out to have a common source: the company responsible for collecting radio and TV licence fees in Austria.

Austrian cops apparently went undercover to buy up a copy of the stolen data for themselves, and in the process of doing so (their investigative methods, unsurprisingly, weren’t revealed) identified an IP number that was somehow connected to the username they’d dealt with on the dark web.

That IP number led to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, where the Dutch police took the investigation further.

As the Dutch Ministry writes:

The team has strong indications that…

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London Police Arrest Teen Hacking Suspect, Have Not Confirmed GTA 6 Leak Link

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London police have arrested a 17-year-old on suspicion of hacking and some have speculated that it has something to do with the Grand Theft Auto VI leaks. Last weekend, 90+ videos of GTA 6 footage were posted on the GTAForums before it spread across the rest of the internet. Although some were doubtful it was real given Rockstar Games‘ immense secrecy, it became evident fairly quickly that the footage was authentic and this was the first look at the highly anticipated game. The leaker in question claimed to have been responsible for a hack on both Rockstar Games and Uber. Rockstar Games issued a statement on Monday morning confirming that it had a security breach and that the leaked footage was indeed real. Shortly after this, Uber reported that it was working with the FBI and US Department of Justice to find the hacker.

London City Police announced on Twitter on September 23rd that it had arrested a 17-year-old on suspicion of hacking as part of an investigation conducted by the National Crime Agency’s Cyber Crime Unit. The teen is currently in custody, though no specifics have been given. Although there’s been rumors and intense speculation prior to the arrest that the hacker was a teen operating out of the UK, London police have not confirmed any link between the two cases. ComicBook reached out to London police for more information and received this brief statement: “We have no further information to share at this stage. Any updates will be shared on our Twitter.” We also reached out to Rockstar Games, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

As of right now, it remains to be seen what will come of this. Rockstar Games has already confirmed that it doesn’t expect any long term disruption to the development of the next Grand Theft Auto, so fans don’t have to worry about the game being internally delayed by years. We still have…

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Two people and suspect have died following Sunday shooting in Security

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COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — The El Paso County Sheriff’s Office and the Colorado Springs Police Department say they are no longer searching for a suspect that was wanted in connection with a shooting that claimed the life of a deputy on Sunday.

At approximately 5:07 p.m., the shooting happened in the 500 block of Ponderosa Drive in Security.

Sheriff Bill Elder told reporters that two deputies and an officer with the Fountain Police Department arrived at the scene and were immediately met with gunfire.

The officers returned fire and 39-year-old Deputy Andrew Peery was struck in the exchange. Despite life-saving measures, Deputy Peery later died of his injuries.

While on the scene, officers located a deceased woman in the 500 block of Ponderosa Drive.

Witnesses in the area weighed in on what they saw the evening of the shooting.

“I saw two cop cars there and then I went to go look 20 minutes later and there was SWAT and everything down there,” said Adrian Burciaga, a neighbor.

Terry Hampton, another neighbor said he witnessed the deputy trying to pull Peery to safety after he was shot.

“After he (Peery) got shot and hit the ground, the guy (Deputy) got behind the tree, and then when the guy (Paz) went in, he (Deputy) went over and grabbed the guy (Peery) and tried to pull him back over to where he was at,” said Hampton.

Hampton also said that this incident was unusual in the neighborhood.

“We’ve had shootings here before, we’ve had drive-by’s on houses, but that was a long time ago, nothing like this,” said Hampton.

Finding the right words to describe the tragedy that took place yesterday is impossible. As the chief of police and as a member of this community, my heart breaks for the two families who have lost loved ones and for the children who have lost a parent. From the community members who called for help, to the deputies, officers, and investigators who responded to the shooting, we are all left incredibly shaken. These tragedies are things I wish did not happen in our community; in the place all of us call home. When these types of horrific acts happen, there is nothing we can do to fully rebuild what was lost or to replace those who are no longer with us.

To families grieving…

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