Spanish police arrest dangerous hacker behind attacks on NATO and US army

An undisclosed hacker, arrested in Spain, has been accused of over 40 cyberattacks on strategic organizations, including government, universities, NATO, and the US Army.

The hacker was arrested last Tuesday in Calpe, Alicante. The Spanish National Police and the Civil Guard carried out the operation.

Spanish National Police began the investigation in February 2024, after a Madrid business association reported data theft and website defacement. Throughout 2024, the hacker carried out numerous other attacks.

🚩Detenido un peligroso #hacker responsable de ➕40 ciberataques a organismos estratégicos

🔹Atacó los servicios informáticos de entidades públicas y privadas, nacionales e internacionales

🔹Reivindicaba los ataques en foros de la #darkweb bajo pseudónimos

➡️Con @guardiacivil pic.twitter.com/qildNAm4D8

undefined Policía Nacional (@policia) February 5, 2025

The man managed to access systems of the Spanish Civil Guard, the Ministry of Defence, the Royal Mint of Spain, the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, the Valencian Regional Government, different Spanish universities, NATO and US Army databases, as well as other companies and international entities.

Police identified the perpetrator after his latest attacks on the Civil Guard and the Ministry of Defense.

The suspect used various pseudonyms and claimed responsibility for the intrusions on dark web forums.

“The investigated person, with in-depth knowledge of computer science, had managed to configure a complex technological network through the use of anonymous messaging and navigation applications through which they would have managed to hide their trail and thus hinder their identification,” police said in a press release.

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During the house search, police seized cryptocurrencies and various computer equipment, which are currently being analyzed and may clarify other criminal acts.

The hacker had more than 50 cryptocurrency accounts with different types of crypto assets.

Bleeping Computer unveiled that the hacker published stolen data from the United Nations' International Civil Aviation Organization on BreachForums under the moniker “natohub.”