Cryptocurrency miner from Ukraine stole $ 4.5 million from international hosting provider

Ukrainian law enforcement officers detained a 35-year-old man for illegal cryptocurrency mining, which caused more than $ 4.5 million in losses to an international hosting company. The offender gained access to 5,000 company accounts, using their servers to deploy virtual machines and mining programs.

The investigation found that the suspect had been searching for vulnerabilities in the security of international companies' servers since 2018, changing his place of residence to avoid detection. During the searches, the police seized computer equipment, phones, bank cards, as well as mining management scripts and data theft tools.

According to the cyber police of Ukraine, the suspect also maintained several accounts on hacker forums, and his crypto wallets contained illegally obtained assets. The pre-trial investigation is ongoing, and new charges are not excluded. The suspect faces up to 15 years in prison and a ban on working in the IT and communications sectors.

At the same time, in 2023, Ukrainian and Europol law enforcement officers detained another hacker in Mykolaiv who had created a million virtual servers for cryptocurrency mining. The investigation lasted several months, and one of the cloud providers joined the investigation.

These cases emphasize the need to carefully protect cloud infrastructures. Europol recommends regularly updating security systems, using the protections offered by cloud providers, and using strong passwords.