Dutch police detain suspect in ShinyHunters case
The suspect will remain in custody for a further 90 days as police and the FBI continue investigating the international hacking group.
Dutch police have announced that a 24-year-old man from Amsterdam is suspected of involvement with the hacking group ShinyHunters. The Rotterdam District Court decided to extend his pre-trial detention by 90 days.
According to police, the man was arrested on 15 September as part of an investigation by the Eenheid Landelijke Opsporing en Interventies. Team High Tech Crime is investigating the man's possible involvement with ShinyHunters under the authority of the Landelijk Parket.
Police describe ShinyHunters as a criminal hacking and extortion group involved in data breaches at various organisations. According to police, the group obtained data from, among others, Odido, Pornhub and Ticketmaster.
Police emphasise that the suspect was not arrested as part of the investigation into the hack at Odido. In that case, in which data belonging to more than six million customers fell into criminal hands, police are still looking for leads. The connection between the various investigations has therefore not been established.
The US FBI describes the arrested man as an alleged leader of ShinyHunters and says that the group has allegedly attacked more than 140 organisations since last year. The FBI also refers to at least 70 million dollars in extortion payments. These are claims by the US law-enforcement agency; a court has not established these figures.
Data storage devices were seized during the arrest. Police say further arrests have not been ruled out and that the investigation is continuing. The extension of pre-trial detention is not a judgment on guilt.
The case underscores how Dutch law-enforcement agencies work with foreign partners on cybercrime. At the same time, the separate handling of the ShinyHunters and Odido investigations shows that public accusations about a hacking group do not automatically constitute evidence against every suspect in a related case.
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The suspect's legal status and the distinction between the investigations have been carefully presented on the basis of information from Dutch police. International figures have not been presented as established judicial facts.
- confirmed A 24-year-old man from Amsterdam was arrested on 15 September. — Directly confirmed by police. source
- confirmed The Rotterdam District Court extended the pre-trial detention by 90 days. — Mentioned in the police statement. source
- confirmed The suspect was not arrested as part of the investigation into the Odido hack. — An explicit statement by police. source
- confirmed The FBI says that ShinyHunters attacked more than 140 organisations and received at least 70 million dollars in extortion payments. — These are figures cited by the FBI itself; the article identifies the source and does not present them as judicially established. source
Editor's note
The arrest, the extension of pre-trial detention and the distinction from the Odido investigation have been confirmed. Claims about the group's size and extortion payments are attributed as FBI claims.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- Trouw — „shinyhunters cybercrime”
- NU.nl — „shinyhunters cybercrime”
- De Telegraaf — „shinyhunters cybercrime”