Suspected TeamPCP hackers arrested over supply chain attacks
The hacking duo face years behind bars.
Two TeamPCP hackers escorted by the police. Screenshot via AFP/Illustration by Cybernews.
- Australian police arrested Ruben Ian Thomson and Louis Michael Gaebler in Perth after an FBI-backed investigation.
- Authorities allege they helped TeamPCP spread malware that may have compromised more than 1,000 organizations worldwide.
- The malware allegedly enabled theft of more than 500,000 credentials and at least 300 gigabytes of data.
- Both men face hacking-related charges; Thomson also faces allegations involving over $100,000 in criminal proceeds.
Key Takeaways by nexos.ai, reviewed by Cybernews staff.
Australian authorities, together with the FBI, have identified and arrested 2 individuals linked with the notorious TeamPCP collective.
Ruben Ian Thomson, 21, and Louis Michael Gaebler, 23, were arrested in Perth earlier this week, after a joint investigation between Australian authorities and the FBI. Both men were charged with a total of 14 offenses, the AFP announced.
The men are suspected of being part of a “highly organized” cybercrime syndicate involved in large-scale offenses. According to the authorities, Thomson and Gaebler distributed malicious software that infected numerous systems across organizations and governments.
“It is estimated that the malicious code potentially compromised more than 1000 organizations globally, enabling the theft of more than 500,000 credentials, and the exfiltration of at least 300 gigabytes of data,” AFP said.
Authorities link both suspects to TeamPCP, a hacker collective responsible for a wave of supply chain attacks, impacting over 1,000 cloud environments. In early July, the FBI issued a flash alert over the gangs’ attacks
A massive 153GB archive of raw data containing secrets was exfiltrated from nearly 2,500 organizations during one of the largest AI supply chain attacks, the March LiteLLM attack.
The list of nearly 2,500 affected organizations includes corporate behemoths like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Samsung Electronics, Salesforce, Cisco Systems, ServiceNow, Siemens, S&P Global, Airbus, John Deere, Deloitte, Orange, and many more.
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Reportedly, the arrested men were the masterminds behind TeamPCP operations, with Thomson as the leader of the entire hacking crew.
“These men are allegedly members of the cybercriminal group TeamPCP, whose malicious code potentially compromised more than a thousand organizations worldwide,” Assistant Director Leatherman said.
According to AFP, Thomson will face charges over having hacking tools ready to use, illegally altering computer data, sharing hacking tools, ignoring a court order to hand over devices, and handling over $100,000 in criminal proceeds.
Meanwhile, Gaebler will face charges for having hacking tools ready to use, illegally altering computer data, and sharing them. If convicted, both could face numerous years in prison, with Thomson’s sentence entering into decades-long punishment.
