For a long time, the police have identified the migration of various kinds of crimes to cyber, including blackmail and threats against financial institutions, companies and individuals. The police have developed and continue to develop many tools to reduce crime potential and increase the chances of exposure in these scenarios
Israel Police Cyber United in Lahav 433, following a long complex investigation with the cooperation of the National Cyber Protection Authority, during the predawn hours arrested a 32-year-old resident of the north, on suspicion of blackmailing one of the country’s largest banks and other companies, and threatened to expose databases if the bank and the commercial companies do not papa an amount of money over NIS 1 million in Bitcoin virtual currency.
Thus, after an accelerated investigation, with the cooperation of the National Cyber Defense Authority, police organizations around the world, and special activities in the “DarkNet” network, the police succeeded in uncovering and putting their hands on the suspect before he succeeded in carrying out his scheme.
The affair began with the letters sent to the management of the bank and the companies at the end of July 2017 from the suspect, who is a former employee of a company that provides services to several banks and government ministries, including the bank in question. According to the suspicions, the suspect managed to obtain data from the bank, such as customer identification details, and demanded a money ransom in return for not publishing and selling the data, which could have harmed the bank and the companies.
In addition, the cyber unit in Lahav 433 and the Israel Police Negotiations Unit began an investigation into the affair, along with the conduct of emails against the extortioner, in order to locate the suspect who disguised his identity on the Internet and to establish the necessary evidence against him, while neutralizing the threat.
This morning, Sunday, 28 Menachem Av, with the publication of the order, it is possible to publish that Lahav 433 special police teams conducted searches in several arenas in order to locate and neutralize the suspect, while simultaneously taking over his computer and accessing the network and successfully completing the case, Sensitive information was returned to its owners to prevent potential damage.
Simultaneous to the police investigation, teams of the National Authority for Cyber Protection, together with the Supervisor of Banks, acted to ensure that no harm was caused to the organization’s systems, that there was no harm to the customers’ accounts, and that the continuity of their functions was not impaired.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
Was the hacker an “Ultra Orthodox”, “Charedi” or “Rabbi”? These make headlines in the main stream media. He was probably some secular Israeli so the MSM doesn’t really care.
By the way what does “………….. and the commercial companies do not papa an amount of money over NIS 1 million in Bitcoin virtual currency.” mean? Do not papa?