Phuket’s law enforcement has coordinated ransomware attacks on Swiss businesses and arrested four hackers suspected of stealing millions of people with cryptocurrency.
All Russian citizens, the accused, reportedly deployed ransomware to a network of 17 Swiss companies between April 2023 and October 2024.
For those who are unaware, ransomware attacks involve a hacker locking the victim’s data, regaining access by requesting payments, usually cryptographically. In this case, the hackers are said to have used the Phobos malware, the report added.
The accused was reportedly part of the Russian Ransomware Group 8 base and was responsible for stealing about $16 million worth of Bitcoin from around 1,000 victims around the world.
According to Pol Lt Gen Traiwong Phiewphan, Commissioner of the Cybercrime Investigation, the suspect was sought by both the US and Swiss authorities.
Thai police worked with immigration officers to track them down in Phuket and seized more than 40 evidence, including laptops, smartphones and digital wallets. Switzerland has already requested the charges to be handed over.
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Meanwhile, Phuket has been at the heart of multiple cryptocurrency-related crimes over the past few months.
Last month, a Russian man was robbed of $20,000 in a hotel in Karon, Phuket. The victim was faced by two Russian peers over undecided cryptocurrency debts related to Russia’s previous business transactions, according to reports.
In November 2024, Ukrainians in Huket were forced to hand over tethers worth $250,000 while visiting friends. Local reports said the victim was tied up with Cable and forced to make a deal before the perpetrator escaped.
read more: Russian trio indicted in Crypto mixer money laundering case
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