Why bribe dozens of employees if one hacker is enough?
Europe's commercial ports are the main entry points for cocaine and other illicit substances, which have entered the EU in record volumes in recent years. The activities of a Dutch hacker hired by drug traffickers to break into the computer networks of ports show how easy it has become to smuggle drugs in modern realities.
On February 14, 2020, Costa Rican police received an "unprecedented gift" for Valentine's Day — 3.8 tons of cocaine were found in a container with ornamental plants.
The authorities then did not tell the public much about the criminals behind this record-breaking find, but soon the police of another country, this time the Netherlands, made a discovery related to the case described above.
After breaking into the encrypted Sky ECC messaging platform, which is widely used by criminal elements, police discovered that 41-year-old father of two Davy de Valk, who worked at a computer in the port city of Rotterdam, played a key role in the operation with tons of cocaine.
On paper, Davy de Valcke could hardly hold down a full-time job. Dutch prosecutors found out that he lived on social benefits. However, encrypted chats showed that in fact the man regularly and for a lot of money worked as a hacker, hacking the systems of the largest seaports in Europe for criminals.
In order to move goods freely, criminal groups have traditionally had to bribe a whole chain of port employees. But the growing digitalization and automation of maritime logistics has opened up new opportunities for penetration. With the information that hackers like de Valcke can provide, merchants don't need as many people anymore. One cooperative port employee and a truck driver are enough.
A Dutch court found that de Valck was able to track how containers are scanned in the port of Rotterdam, thereby helping his clients determine where best to hide drugs so that they are not discovered.
De Valcke also hacked into the network of a terminal in Antwerp, Belgium, using malware loaded onto a USB stick and inserted by a bribed office clerk. This gave him access to data that could allow customers to pick up drugs without attracting attention, the court said.
De Valcq charged hundreds of thousands of euros for his services, as the intercepted chats show. However, experts believe that his hacking methods were quite primitive.
While the full picture of de Valcke's achievements before his arrest in September 2021 is unknown, European police believe he was part of a broader access code fraud scheme that allowed at least 200 tons of cocaine to be smuggled through Rotterdam and Antwerp since 2018.
The fight against drug traffickers is complicated by their ability to use money and threats to persuade key port employees to actively help, says Rotterdam Maritime Police Chief Jan Janse. Not to mention the digitalization mentioned above, which is actively gaining momentum.
Authorities are already experimenting with methods to tighten security measures, including offering additional training to staff and limiting the number of people who have access to sensitive and important data. However, only time will tell whether the new measures will bear fruit.
Europe's commercial ports are the main entry points for cocaine and other illicit substances, which have entered the EU in record volumes in recent years. The activities of a Dutch hacker hired by drug traffickers to break into the computer networks of ports show how easy it has become to smuggle drugs in modern realities.
On February 14, 2020, Costa Rican police received an "unprecedented gift" for Valentine's Day — 3.8 tons of cocaine were found in a container with ornamental plants.
The authorities then did not tell the public much about the criminals behind this record-breaking find, but soon the police of another country, this time the Netherlands, made a discovery related to the case described above.
After breaking into the encrypted Sky ECC messaging platform, which is widely used by criminal elements, police discovered that 41-year-old father of two Davy de Valk, who worked at a computer in the port city of Rotterdam, played a key role in the operation with tons of cocaine.
On paper, Davy de Valcke could hardly hold down a full-time job. Dutch prosecutors found out that he lived on social benefits. However, encrypted chats showed that in fact the man regularly and for a lot of money worked as a hacker, hacking the systems of the largest seaports in Europe for criminals.
In order to move goods freely, criminal groups have traditionally had to bribe a whole chain of port employees. But the growing digitalization and automation of maritime logistics has opened up new opportunities for penetration. With the information that hackers like de Valcke can provide, merchants don't need as many people anymore. One cooperative port employee and a truck driver are enough.
A Dutch court found that de Valck was able to track how containers are scanned in the port of Rotterdam, thereby helping his clients determine where best to hide drugs so that they are not discovered.
De Valcke also hacked into the network of a terminal in Antwerp, Belgium, using malware loaded onto a USB stick and inserted by a bribed office clerk. This gave him access to data that could allow customers to pick up drugs without attracting attention, the court said.
De Valcq charged hundreds of thousands of euros for his services, as the intercepted chats show. However, experts believe that his hacking methods were quite primitive.
While the full picture of de Valcke's achievements before his arrest in September 2021 is unknown, European police believe he was part of a broader access code fraud scheme that allowed at least 200 tons of cocaine to be smuggled through Rotterdam and Antwerp since 2018.
The fight against drug traffickers is complicated by their ability to use money and threats to persuade key port employees to actively help, says Rotterdam Maritime Police Chief Jan Janse. Not to mention the digitalization mentioned above, which is actively gaining momentum.
Authorities are already experimenting with methods to tighten security measures, including offering additional training to staff and limiting the number of people who have access to sensitive and important data. However, only time will tell whether the new measures will bear fruit.
