Farid Essebar, a 27-year-old Moroccan with Russian citizenship who is known in the hacking scene under the alias Diabl0, has been arrested by Thai authorities on suspicion of involvement in cyberattacks carried out on banks in Switzerland.
According to the Bangkok Post, Essebar was arrested after Swiss authorities contacted their embassy in Bangkok and reported the actions of the hacker as well as three other members of a gang operating from Thailand.
Essebar is accused of hacking into the computer systems of various banks, and of causing damages estimated at approximately $4 billion.
Thai police had been tracking Diabl0 for two years, but apparently, they wanted to make sure he was the one the Swiss authorities were looking for before arresting him. Essebar is said to have visited Thailand, Hong Kong, and other neighboring countries several times in recent years.
Police Director Songsak Raksaksakul, head of the International Affairs and International Criminal Special Investigations Division, said Essebar never gambled or acquired any assets in Thailand, but only visited tourist destinations.
Diabl0 was first arrested in 2005 by Moroccan authorities. He was accused and convicted of participating in the creation of Zotob, a notorious worm that infected many computers of major companies, including CNN, ABC News, NYT, Boeing, and the US Department of Homeland Security.
He was sentenced to two years in prison, but was released after serving the first year of his sentence.
