23-year-old hacker arrested for cyber attacks on Latvian companies
State Police have arrested a 23-year-old hacker suspected of cyber attacks on at least two Latvian companies with the aim of extorting money.
Hacker arrested for extortion attacks on company databases
State Police have arrested a 23-year-old hacker suspected of cyber attacks on at least two Latvian companies in order to extort money, according to 1188.lv.
Among the victims is the website of household appliance repair company "TSC", which is part of the "LMT" group of companies. The suspect used automated tools to discover website vulnerabilities and gain access to company databases.
From the systems, he unauthorisedly obtained personal data, then sent a request to the companies demanding payment for not disclosing the stolen data.
Jānis Markuns, head of the 1st department of the State Police Cyber Crime Prevention Authority, notes that the suspect was previously known to law enforcement. "He had been arrested before. Considering this person's previous experience, he worked in the IT field, but cyber attacks seemed more appealing to him, [with which] he could earn more money more easily," explains Markuns.
Police have not yet disclosed what sum of money the young man attempted to extort from the victims. The applicable penalty remains unclear — there is talk of a possible prison sentence, but the crime assessment system in this area is not fully established.
Source: Google News LV — Crime (lv)