Man in Thailand, 39, allegedly responsible for 11 S'pore data ransom cases, arrested in joint police operation

A joint operation by Singapore and Thai police on Feb. 26 led to the arrest of a 39-year-old man in Thailand believed to be responsible for at least 75 international data breaches.

According to a Singapore Police Force (SPF) release on Feb. 27, the data breaches are believed to have affected 11 individuals in Singapore.

11 S'pore victims got ransom demands

Investigations began in 2020, after 11 victims in Singapore filed reports about the data breaches.

The victims said they received ransom demands from several threat actors after getting their data stolen.

These threat actors identified themselves as “Altdos”, “Desorden”, “GhostR” and “0mid16B”.

Investigations revealed that these aliases were likely connected to the same threat actor who was responsible for at least 75 cases internationally.

Police said the hacker allegedly exploited vulnerabilities in the victims’ networks before stealing their data.

When victims failed to pay the ransom, the hacker allegedly put up their stolen data for sale online.

The hacker is also believed to be responsible for a spate of data breach cases in Thailand.

Hacker arrested in Thailand

Officers from SPF's Cybercrime Command (CCC) under the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) worked closely with officers from the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) of the Royal Thai Police (RTP) to establish the man's identity.

After extensive planning and close collaboration between the two police forces, the man was arrested on Feb. 26 for offences under Thailand's Criminal Code and Computer-Related Crime Act.

Assets valued at over 10 million baht (S$395,844), including laptops, mobile phones, luxury vehicles, and branded bags, were seized.

Police investigations are ongoing.

Top image from Canva