Feds Suspect Ransom Negotiator Ran ShinyHunters Extortion Site
U.S. federal investigators pursuing the ShinyHunters hacking group that recently stole highly sensitive data from the FBI have identified executives at two different ransomware negotiation firms who maintained unusually close relations with the extortion group, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. Sources close to the investigation say one of the executives in the United States even helped ShinyHunters…
U.S. federal investigators suspect that two ransomware negotiation firms maintained close ties with the ShinyHunters hacking group, which has stolen sensitive data from the FBI. One U.S.-based executive even allegedly helped ShinyHunters operate a website that pressured victims to pay ransoms. ShinyHunters, primarily operated by cybercriminals in France, has extorted over $70 million this year.
The FBI discovered that one of ShinyHunters' websites, shinywire.com, was run by a U.S. consulting firm, though the company has not been charged yet. ShinyHunters' hacker, Rey, was detained by Jordanian authorities, while another suspected member, Peppijn van der Stap, was apprehended in the Netherlands. Authorities found that Van der Stap was in contact with ransomware negotiators and a Canadian cybersecurity executive, Edward Dubrovsky, who was also arrested.
Dubrovsky allegedly knew about the FBI's data breach before ShinyHunters threatened to publish the stolen personnel files.
Written by urgent.news from KrebsOnSecurity's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
