Cyber experts from the Security Service of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Police and with the support of law enforcement authorities of the Czech Republic, carried out a large-scale special operation to neutralize an international hacker group.
As a result of coordinated actions across Ukraine and the EU, two organizers (developers) and the main members of this group were identified.
The suspects stole personal data and looted bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets belonging to citizens of the European Union and the United States. They did this using malicious software (malware) they had developed themselves.
According to the investigation, the perpetrators sent out phishing emails embedded with malware to gain access to their victims’ computers.
Once they had breached the systems, they stole personal data stored on the victims' devices, which they used to extract funds from electronic accounts and virtual asset wallets.
The investigation also revealed that the suspects sold their custom-built malware on hacker forums, including to groups controlled by Russian intelligence services.
During searches of the suspects’ residences in Ukraine and the EU, law enforcement officers seized computer equipment, mobile phones, cryptocurrency wallets, and flash drives containing evidence of the crimes.
All participants have now been formally charged under Part 2 of Article 361-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (creation, for the purpose of illegal use, distribution, or sale of malicious software or technical tools, and their distribution or sale committed by a group of persons in prior collusion).
The investigation is ongoing to bring all those involved to justice. The perpetrators face real prison terms.
