FBI strikes back at hacking group with overseas arrest of alleged leader
One hundred forty companies. Seventy million in extortion. One Amsterdam raid.
Summary
- Fox News reports Dutch police arrested a 24-year-old Amsterdam man on Sept. 15 in a joint operation with the FBI targeting alleged ShinyHunters leadership. FBI Director Kash Patel announced the arrest Tuesday.
- Dutch authorities also suspect the man of attempted incitement of two murders. Devices were seized and further arrests were not ruled out. The FBI's Cyber Division assistant director, Brett Leatherman, said the group had allegedly breached more than 140 organizations and taken at least $70 million in extortion.
- Leatherman released a video telling remaining members the bureau knows how to find them and that seized infrastructure will show who is left. Patel thanked Dutch partners and industry tipsters.
- Benjamin Korper of Amsterdam firm Neo Security named the arrested man as Pepijn van der Stap, the company's offensive security lead. Dutch forensic officers visited that office the night of the raid. The FBI statement did not name the suspect.
Commentary
A Cleveland shop dad still keeps payroll on a scratched laptop and knows a vendor login is supposed to mean a parts order, not a $70 million shakedown. He did not pay the levy so a 24-year-old in Amsterdam could auction his customers.
Sept. 15 raid. 140-plus breaches. $70 million. Two alleged murder solicitations. The vinyl chair in that police annex still holds the household that already bought the lock.
Look every working father who still types a password after a night shift in the eye and answer this: if Dutch police already kicked the door, who still owns the next vendor that treats a cloud login as a piggy bank?
Comments
Sept. 15. 140-plus breaches. $70 million. Keep those three stamps.
I stood a gate so a vendor login still meant a parts order. Extortion is not a weather report.
Patel Tuesday. Dutch High-Tech Crime Unit. Two alleged murder solicitations. Print the three.
Allied cyber desks still kick a door in a partner city. That is a neighbor, not a lecture.
ShinyHunters. Devices seized. More arrests possible. File the three.
I still smell diesel at 2 a.m. I want the next cloud login on a lock I can see.
A $70 million shakedown is not a vibe. It is a warning the street already paid.
A 140-company haul next to an FBIJobs scare is a second border around every honest shop.
Fox printed Patel, Sept. 15, and the $70 million. Argue those nouns.
Hold the raid. Keep the leads. A cloud login is not a souvenir.
