Operación: “Bitcoins”
The Police arrested a Uruguayan hacker who stole important information from an institution and extorted money. The operation took 7 months of investigation and in the last hours a 41-year-old man was prosecuted with prison by the Justice.
The complaint was filed by the representatives of a private medical assistance mutual in our country, before the Technological Crimes Section of the General Directorate for the Fight Against Organized Crime and INTERPOL (DGLCCO and I.).
In it, they stated that its computer system received a cyberattack against its database, from where sensitive company information was stolen. Subsequently, that entity received a request for money in exchange for releasing said information, through an email.
As reported by the (DGLCCO and I.), “the author requested 15 bitcoins (virtual currency that amounts to about 4,000 dollars per unit, in the market) and from the request, every 24 hours that pass, it would increase by 5 bitcoins” .
The investigation
Personnel from the Technological Crimes Section (SDT), together with the Presidency of the Republic through the Government Security Agency (AGESIC) followed the traces of the IP addresses that were used to send the emails, in an operation that lasted several months.
It was in charge of the 11th Criminal Court. Shift and the 20th Prosecutor’s Office. Turn, which ordered the immediate actions.
In recent days, researchers have identified the origin of this cyberattack, as well as the identity of who carried it out. This led to a raid in the capital of the country where they located a 41-year-old Uruguayan, by profession
computer engineer who seized a significant amount of computer equipment and other effects.
From the author’s home, the Police seized 6 notebook computers, 5 cell phones; a card reader/writer (device used to clone magnetic cards); a hard drive reader/writer; a router; 13 computer hard drives; 125 plastics of original magnetic cards, 1 post of magnetic cards; 16 flash drives; 2 color printers and a guillotine.
other crimes
The Police located in the apartment of this person a significant amount of money, of dubious origin, which by order of Justice was sent for analysis to the National Directorate of Scientific Police, to determine if it is counterfeit money. In this case, $1,460 dollars, $8,320 euros, $157 reais, and $3,180 Uruguayan pesos were seized.
From the SDT they indicated to UNICOM that “this is the first case registered in Uruguay of a person who commits this type of crime and who has full knowledge of transactions with bitcoins.”
The Justice ordered the prosecution with imprisonment of ADHA as the perpetrator responsible for a crime of fraudulent knowledge of secret documents, in concurrence, outside of the actual reiteration, with a crime of attempted extortion.
Likewise, it ordered that professionals from that Unit carry out the pertinent tests on the seized computer equipment to determine other possible attacks by the author.
On the other hand, this operation is still ongoing “in order to determine if the person responsible committed other similar crimes that have not yet been reported,” they indicated from the SDT.
Source: (DGLCCO and I.)
Montevideo, September 12, 2017
UNICOM – unicom@miinterior.gub.uy
