The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in collaboration with the UK Cybercrime Prosecution Service are investigating a malicious actor who gained unauthorised access to confidential customer data from an e-commerce company and has advertised the sale of this information on the Dark Web. The hacker has demanded a ransom from the company in order to delete the data.
The incident came to light when the owner of the e-commerce company, Praveen BS, realized that his company's customer list had been stolen. The data included details of all customers who purchased groceries and other products from the company's online website. Someone had managed to gain unauthorized access to his system and stole the data on October 13, it was revealed.
The hacker, who goes by the name Beenu Arora, as he revealed via email, "claimed to be the CEO of an IT company and demanded $70,000 to remove the advertisement for the sale of the stolen information on the Dark Web and another $100,000 in Bitcoin to secure the stolen data," police added.
Now cybercrime authorities are trying to locate the defendant through the IP address of the email he used.
Using a similar tactic, the Central Crime Branchhad managed to arrest a software engineer, known as Sri Krishna, for allegedly hacking into company databases and stealing sensitive information, as part of an investigation into illegal drug trafficking. The engineer intended to blackmail the owners and demand a ransom to return the data or else sell the information on the Dark Web.
Sandeep Patil, deputy commissioner of police, said Sri Krishna has been remanded in custody until December 1 to further investigate his role in the hacking. According to Mr. Patil, Sri Krishna is alleged to have hacked 30 websites, mainly Bitcoin trading platforms, poker and other gambling sites.
