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30m personal accounts hacked by pro-Kremlin cybercriminals

Updated on: 23 September 2022

Jurgita Lapienytė
Chief Editor

Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) neutralized a hacker group in Lviv that acted in support of the Kremlin. Suspects are accused of selling personal data belonging to Ukrainians and European Union (EU) citizens to Russia.

SBU said the suspects had breached internet users' accounts and sold that confidential information through an anonymous darknet platform. Attackers used electronic payment systems YuMoney, Qiwi, and WebMoney to receive their earnings. The mentioned services are prohibited in Ukraine.

According to the SBU, hackers sold up to 30 million accounts and earned almost UAH 14 million (approximately $380.000).

SBU said that the suspects' customers were pro-Kremlin propagandists who used stolen personal data to spread fake news and panic in Ukraine and the EU.

"Suspects impersonated ordinary people to spread disinformation about the socio-political situation in Ukraine and the EU," the SBU said.

The hacker group, including several suspects from Lviv, penetrated victims' accounts using malware.

Law enforcement seized computer equipment, mobile phones, SIM cards, flash drives, and hard magnetic disks with confidential information.