The Security Service of Ukraine's (SSU) cyber division has eliminated a group of hackers responsible for the data theft or roughly 30 million people.
According to SSU, its cyber branch has dismantled a group of hacktivists who stole 30 million accounts and sold the data on the dark web. According to the department, the hacker organization sold these accounts for about UAH 14 million ($375,000).
As stated by the SSU, the hackers sold data packs that pro-Kremlin propagandists bought in bulk and then utilized the accounts to distribute false information on social media, generate panic, and destabilize Ukraine and other nations.
YuMoney, Qiwi, and WebMoney, which are not permitted in Ukraine, were used by the group to receive funds.The police discovered and seized many hard drives containing stolen personal data, alongside desktops, SIM cards, mobile phones, and flash drives, during the raids on the attackers' homes in Lviv, Ukraine.
By infecting systems with malware, fraudsters were able to gather sensitive data and login passwords. They targeted systems in the European Union and Ukraine. According to Part 1 of Article 361-2 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, unauthorized selling of material with restricted access, the group's organizer has been put under investigation.
The number of people detained is still unknown, but they are all charged criminally with selling or disseminating restricted-access material stored in computers and networks without authorization. There are lengthy prison terms associated with these offenses.
The gang's primary clients were pro-Kremlin propagandists who utilized the stolen accounts in their destabilizing misinformation efforts in Ukraine and other nations.
The SSU took down five bot farms that spread misinformation around the nation in March and employed 100,000 fictitious social media profiles. A huge bot farm with one million bots was found and destroyed by Ukrainian authorities in August.
The SSU discovered two further botnets in September that were using 7,000 accounts to propagate false information on social media.
Malware producers are frequently easier to recognize, but by using accounts belonging to real people, the likelihood that the operation would be discovered is greatly reduced due to the history of the posts and the natural activity.
