Japan hands over ‘Qilin’ hacker group member to Germany
Qilin is believed to have carried out ransomware attacks against companies worldwide, causing major damage through data encryption.
Japanese authorities have apprehended a Russian man suspected of being a prominent member of the international hacker group known as "Qilin" and extradited him to Germany, according to investigative sources. Qilin is accused of orchestrating ransomware attacks on companies across the globe, causing significant disruption through data encryption.
In 2025, the group took responsibility for a major system failure at Japanese food and beverage conglomerate Asahi Group Holdings. German law enforcement had been tracking the Russian individual, suspected of involvement in a ransomware attack on a German firm, and upon learning of his presence in Japan, Japanese police arrested him and transferred him to Germany at Germany's request.
The National Police Agency of Japan reported that 123 ransomware attacks were confirmed in the first half of 2026, marking a record high for that period.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- Google, SpaceX plan space data centres; Japan, Germany have another solution timesofindia.indiatimes.com
