Ukrainian police have arrested a man and accused him of hacking into the accounts of an international hosting company and using its servers to mine cryptocurrency.
The cyber department of the National Police of Ukraine reported that a 35-year-old man from the Poltava region had been looking for weak points in the security of various international companies and gaining access to their servers since 2018.
In particular, the accused illegally gained access to more than 5000 client accounts of an international hosting company that provides server rental services for the operation of various websites and online platforms, the police said.
Having gained access to the accounts, the man deployed unauthorized virtual machines and cryptominers on the company’s servers, which is commonly referred to as cryptojacking.
During a search of the home of the accused cryptohacker, police found computer equipment, mobile phones, bank cards and other evidence.
Ukrainian police claim that because the man used resources without payment, the hosting company suffered losses estimated at more than 185 million hryvnia ($4,4 million). The detainee also periodically changed his place of residence in Poltava, Odessa, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions to hide from law enforcement officers.
If found guilty, the defendant faces up to 15 years in prison.
