A 39-year-old Singaporean hacker, identified as Mr Chingwei, was arrested in Thailand for his involvement in multiple high-profile data breaches, where he illegally obtained private data and held it for ransom.
According to the Bangkok Post, the arrest on Wednesday (26 Feb) was the result of a coordinated effort between the Royal Thai Police and Singapore Police Force (SPF).
Thai police began investigating the hacker after a company alerted authorities that it received a ransom demand from an X account run by the someone who identified as 0mid16B.
The account threatened to sell the company’s customers’ data on the black market unless a large sum of money was paid.
The case was then referred to Thailand’s Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), who contacted SPF for assistance.
Source: Bangkok Post
Officers from the Cybercrime Command in SPF then worked closely with the Thai police to share findings from their investigations.
According to the Straits Times, cyber-security firm Group-IB, which assisted in the investigations, were able to identify the hacker as the individual responsible for 90 instances of global data leaks.
He reportedly worked under multiple aliases, including Altdos and Desorden.
After tracing the hacker’s X account, Thai authorities were able to locate the suspect in a residence in Bangkok’s Ramkhamhaeng district.
Police then arrested the 39-year-old Singaporean in the home. They also seized assets worth more than 10 million baht (S$395,000), including a luxury car, branded bags, and various electronics.
Source: FM91
The Singaporean admitted to hacking 20 companies in Thailand and more than 50 in other countries.
He told police that he sold the stolen data on the dark web through cryptocurrency, earning a minimum of US$10,000 (S$13,000) per transaction.
He also claimed to have operated independently.
According to the Straits Times, he was responsible for attacks on companies such as PC vendor Acer, a real estate firm, an employment agency, and restaurant chain Black Canyon Coffee.
MS News has reached out to the SPF for comments.
Also read: S’porean Hacker Arrested In Bangkok, Stole Social Media Accounts To Buy Goods Online
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Featured image adapted from Bangkok Post and FM91.
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