A 19-year-old teenager is on the list of the most dangerous hackers in Europe

Spanish police have arrested Jose Luis Huertas (also known as «Alcaseca», «Mango» or «Chimichuri»), a 19-year-old teenager who was included in the list of the most dangerous hackers in Europe.

According to law enforcement officials, Huertas is responsible for several high-profile cyberattacks on Spanish government agencies, as well as for creating his own cybercrime system called El Ojo de Horus, designed to sell stolen confidential information.

A police investigation launched in November 2022 led to the identification and arrest of the young cybercriminal, who was described as a «serious threat to Spanish national security.» Investigators became interested in Huertas after hacking into the computer network of the National Judicial Council of Spain (CGPJ). During this attack, the attacker stole the data of 575,000 taxpayers to sell it to other cybercriminals. The stolen information included personal data and account numbers.

Huertas is also accused of impersonating the CEO of the television company Gestevisión Telecinco/Mediaset España, from whom he stole 300 thousand euros. Numerous cyberattacks on Spanish government agencies and money laundering only add to the list of his crimes. With each attack, Huertas became bolder, and recently the attacker even gave an interview on YouTube, in which he stated that he had access to the information of approximately 90% of all Spanish citizens.

According to local media, the Spanish police were able to track down the young hacker by tracing the receipt of funds for hosting services for the aforementioned system for selling information El Ojo de Horus, created by Hertas. Although the cybercriminal used cryptocurrency «cleaned» with the help of mixer services, the police were still able to trace some payments with the help of experts from the National Cryptology Center of Spain.

In March, the US police arrested one of the two teenagers suspected of hacking into the US intelligence database. The hackers, who allegedly belonged to the ViLE criminal group, posed as a police officer, threatening users with disclosing their personal data online.