A Ukrainian hacker got caught selling confidential information gathered from Ukrainian central government databases for crypto.
It has been reported by the Ukrainian Cyberpolice that a hacker whose identity was not disclosed was able to break into many government databases by compromising personal accounts of authorized staff.
However, the hacker used brute force approaches to break into e-mail addresses and social media accounts. Through this simple method, he appears to have found 50 government databases with up-to-date information.
Then he sought to sell the captured information on hacker forums in exchange for cryptocurrency. But authorities did not disclose which currency was used.
A Ukrainian hacker got caught when trying to sell government database data he obtained by simply brute forcing passwords https://t.co/KeaIiX3Hd6 — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) July 10, 2020
As per the report, the police searched the perpetrator’s apartment and seized the equipment that was used to conduct these deals. A picture from what appears to be his computer shows a Skype conversation supposedly in connection with these deals.
Likewise, the hacker told a potential customer that the price was “6.5 [rubles] for one valid [entry].” Probably, the customer was located in Russia, as Ukraine’s currency is the hryvnia. The price quote amounts to about $0.10 per database entry.
The perpetrator was charged with “unauthorized sale and distribution of information with limited access,” a crime with a maximum prison sentence of five years. Given the lack of high treason charges, it seems likely that the data was not extraordinarily sensitive.
Thus, hackers will often use cryptocurrency to sell sensitive data.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Alpine Security