Key facts
- Spanish police arrested a 16-year-old Romanian national in Alicante.
- The arrests are part of a Europe-wide probe into around 1,000 ransomware attacks.
- The teenager is suspected of being the main operator of the hacker group KillSec.
- KillSec exploited software vulnerabilities to copy sensitive information and demand ransom payments.
- Two other individuals were arrested in Britain and Romania.
- Police seized evidence and assets during raids in Spain, Greece, Romania, and Britain.
Spanish police arrested a 16-year-old Romanian national in Alicante on Thursday as part of a Europe-wide investigation into approximately 1,000 ransomware attacks conducted over the past two years. The teenager is suspected of being the primary operator of the hacker group KillSec.
Europol, the EU's law enforcement agency, stated that the arrested individual was the "administrator" of KillSec. The group is accused of exploiting software vulnerabilities and poorly secured access points, particularly to cloud storage, to copy sensitive information. KillSec then allegedly threatened organizations with the publication of this data unless ransom payments were made, and "obtained substantial ransom payments," according to Europol.
In addition to the teenager, two other individuals in their twenties were arrested, one in Britain and another in Romania. An extradition request has been filed by Puerto Rico for the person arrested in Britain. A fourth individual, a developer who turned 18 in August, has also been identified but not yet arrested, having been a minor when some offenses were committed.
Police conducted raids on eight houses across Spain, Greece, Romania, and Britain, seizing evidence and assets related to the investigation.