Ukrainian police have arrested a 35-year-old man for illegally breaching 5,000 user accounts of an international hosting company and using them to mine cryptocurrencies. This sophisticated cryptojacking attack caused damages exceeding $4.5 million, and the suspect now faces up to 15 years in prison.
🔹 Mining Crypto on Hijacked Servers
According to Ukraine’s National Police, the attacker secretly deployed virtual machines and crypto-mining software within the infrastructure of compromised accounts. Once he gained unauthorized access, he activated miners that exploited company servers to generate digital assets. Officials classified it as a severe disruption of information and communication systems.
The suspect is charged under Part 5 of Article 361 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which allows for a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, along with a three-year restriction on working in IT or accessing networked systems after release.
🔹 Hacking Since 2018 – and Constantly on the Move
Investigators discovered that the hacker had been active since at least 2018, probing vulnerabilities in various international firms. He frequently changed locations, reportedly residing in Poltava, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions to evade law enforcement.
A house raid led to the seizure of computers, smartphones, bank cards, and other physical evidence. Authorities found mining scripts, hacking tools, and stolen login credentials to emails and wallets containing illegally mined crypto.
🔹 Europol Assisted in Previous Major Cryptojacking Arrest
Ukraine is not fighting this cyber threat alone. In January 2023, Ukrainian authorities—with support from Europol—arrested a 29-year-old man in Mykolaiv, accused of hijacking 1,500 accounts to create over 1 million virtual servers, enabling illegal crypto mining worth over $2 million.
The attacker had used a custom brute-force software to crack passwords and infect cloud infrastructure with malicious code. A cloud service provider cooperated with Europol, helping uncover the suspect's identity and location.
During the months-long investigation, police searched three properties, leading to the eventual arrest. Europol set up a dedicated command post to coordinate with Ukrainian National Police in real-time.
The agency warned cloud users to strengthen security practices—emphasizing regular updates, patching, strong credentials, and professional cloud security tools to defend against similar threats.
📌 One-Minute Recap:
🔹 Ukrainian hacker used 5,000 accounts for illicit crypto mining
🔹 Damage exceeded $4.5 million; suspect faces up to 15 years
🔹 Authorities seized logins, crypto wallets, and mining tools
🔹 Europol helped with a similar 2023 arrest in Mykolaiv
🔹 Cloud attacks are on the rise—security must be a top priority
#CyberSecurity , #cybercrime , #CryptoCrime , #bitcoin , #CryptoNewss
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