Ukrainian Cyber Police Arrest 51 Sellers of Personal Data

Ukrainian law enforcement officials have announced the arrest of 51 suspects involved in selling personal data on hacker forums. The stolen data belonged to hundreds of millions of people worldwide, including citizens of Ukraine, the United States, and European countries.

Details of the Operation

Investigators reported that around 100 databases, current for the years 2020-2021, were seized during the operation. These databases contained various types of information on more than 300 million individuals.

Authorities also shut down a major unnamed website that was distributing personal data of both Ukrainian and foreign citizens. The site included information such as phone numbers, full names, registration addresses, and, in some cases, details about administrative services related to vehicle use.

How the Data Was Sold

According to the official press release, the suspects sold information on closed hacker forums, as well as through social networks and messaging apps. The price of the databases ranged from 500 to 50,000 hryvnias, depending on the content and commercial value.

In total, 117 searches were conducted across different regions of Ukraine, resulting in the removal of more than 90,000 gigabytes of information.