Paris police have arrested a Russian citizen on charges of involvement in the Hive ransomware hacker group. He was found to have more than 570,000 euros in various cryptocurrencies.
Hive encrypts the data of infected computers, and hackers extort funds in cryptocurrencies for decrypting the data. More than 60 companies and individuals became victims of the ransomware virus in France, including Altice, Damart and some municipal departments.
The arrested Russian, according to RMC.BFMTV radio, is about 40 years old, and he lives in Cyprus. He was arrested upon arrival in Paris. The defendant's Cypriot home was searched and a significant amount of money in various cryptocurrencies was seized.
French financial intelligence officers were able to trace cryptocurrency flows from the affected companies to the suspect's wallets. They then managed to identify a member of the Hive hacker group and found him while in Paris.
At the same time, the Russian embassy was not informed about the arrest of the suspected Russian; embassy employees learned about this from media materials.
Let us recall that in January, FBI employees, together with law enforcement agencies in Germany and the Netherlands, eliminated the infrastructure of the Hive ransomware and gained control over all the group’s Tor sites.
According to department estimates, hackers hacked over 1,500 companies in 80 countries and obtained about $100 million from victims through blackmail.
Hive encrypts the data of infected computers, and hackers extort funds in cryptocurrencies for decrypting the data. More than 60 companies and individuals became victims of the ransomware virus in France, including Altice, Damart and some municipal departments.
The arrested Russian, according to RMC.BFMTV radio, is about 40 years old, and he lives in Cyprus. He was arrested upon arrival in Paris. The defendant's Cypriot home was searched and a significant amount of money in various cryptocurrencies was seized.
French financial intelligence officers were able to trace cryptocurrency flows from the affected companies to the suspect's wallets. They then managed to identify a member of the Hive hacker group and found him while in Paris.
At the same time, the Russian embassy was not informed about the arrest of the suspected Russian; embassy employees learned about this from media materials.
Let us recall that in January, FBI employees, together with law enforcement agencies in Germany and the Netherlands, eliminated the infrastructure of the Hive ransomware and gained control over all the group’s Tor sites.
According to department estimates, hackers hacked over 1,500 companies in 80 countries and obtained about $100 million from victims through blackmail.
