PHUKET, Thailand – The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau has arrested four foreign hackers accused of using ransomware to extort over 1,000 victims, leading to financial losses exceeding 560 million baht.
Police Lieutenant General Trairong Phiwphan, head of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, led a team of cyber police officers to four locations in Phuket, in collaboration with immigration police and the police from Region 8, to dismantle a global criminal organization. The operation followed requests from the United States and Switzerland for international cooperation to investigate and gather evidence on a group of foreign suspects who were operating as a transnational criminal network.
The suspects used ransomware to attack over 17 companies in Switzerland between April 30, 2023, and October 26, 2024. The hackers accessed the victims’ networks without permission, copied, and stole data from their computers. They then deployed the Phobos ransomware to alter and encrypt the files of the victims. A ransom note was left on the infected computers, demanding payment in cryptocurrency in exchange for a decryption key. If the victims refused to pay, the hackers would follow up with threatening emails or phone calls, warning that they would sell or expose the stolen data.
Additionally, the suspects used a cryptocurrency mixing service to obscure their transactions and hinder efforts to trace the funds on the blockchain. (TNA)
