In a press release, Ukraine police stated that they arrested a 51-member group, for selling data of more than 300 million Americans and Europeans to hackers. Groups like the above are on the rise, and one must go beyond the normal to protect their accounts. One must use a password manager to set a strong password.

The 51 suspects were allegedly selling data of more than 300 million Americans and Europeans in Ukraine.  The operation which the Ukrainian police call “DATA”  also put an end to one of the largest websites in the world. The website was a platform in which criminals could buy and sell stolen information.

The police said around 90,000 gigabytes of data had been taken off from the internet as a result of the 177 searches that made up the operation.

Ukraine’s cyber police department reported that together with 50 arrests, they seized 100 databases of data that was controlled by the group.

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The police force’s press release said the suspects were in possession “of personal data of citizens, confidential information on financial and economic activities of individuals and legal entities, information about customers of banking and commercial institutions, data for authorization on e-mails, social networks, online stores and more.”

Information sold on the websites includes telephone numbers and license plate numbers.

In October, investigators investigating two ransomware attacks had searched 7 properties and seized USD 375,000 along with two luxury vehicles and freezing cryptocurrencies worth 1.3 million. The cyber police had arrested a hacker, in October, for hacking more than 100 foreign companies and causing $150 million damage.

Internet users must use password managers and follow cyber safe practices for preventing themselves from becoming targets of cyberattacks.

Reference:

https://tech.co/news/51-arrested-in-ukraine-for-selling-data-of-300m-people-in-eu-us?web_view=true