A Hacker Nabbed After He Accidentally Drops A USB Drive
An independent investigation by the Belgian police found the suspect in a bank explosion, was linked to multiple cyber-attack charges against the same bank. Even worse, they also discovered that the man in question was part of an anonymous hacking group.
It all began when a 35-year-old man from the Belgian city of Roeselare was arrested for throwing Molotov cocktails at the Crelan Bank office in Rumbeke. The suspect dropped the USB drive during the launch of explosives, which led to his arrest, and the police found out his identity by analyzing the contents in the USB drive, which he had accidentally dropped at the scene. In court records, he was identified as Brecht S.
A hobby for cyber crimes
After completing a thorough analysis of the contents of the USB drive and a series of home searches on Brecht’s antecedents, the Belgian police discovered that the suspect was also responsible for a series of cyber-attacks on banking institutions.
Police discovered that in addition to throwing explosives, the suspect was also prone to cybercrime. Brecht also launched DDoS attacks against Crelan’s electronic banking portal, which caused several site crashes. A DDoS attack or distributed denial of service is a type of cyber-attack in which the attacker sends fraudulent and bot traffic of magnitude greater than what a system can hold, resulting the server to freeze for a period of time.
During the trial, Brecht explained the reason for his DDoS attack on Crelan Bank was because the bank officials refused to meet him to resolve the loss of approximately $ 300,000 ($ 342,000) from his mother’s bank account. The suspect justified his actions by claiming that it was his revenge for the losses suffered by his mother.
The prosecutors were also able to find proof of his association with an anonymous hacking group operating in Belgium, called “Anonymous Belgium”, and other cybercrime operation on behalf of “Cyber Crew”. Prosecutors said Brecht had participated in several cyberattacks by hacking groups, one of which was aimed at the FIFA football organization.
In addition, Brecht was involved in a coordinated DDoS attack on an unknown pizza restaurant, effectively closing his online business, including his website. Suspects launch DDoS attacks in restaurants and demand ransoms to stop attacks. As part of an investigation, Police also identified several of his accomplices. One of the identified suspected partners was a 44-year-old Bruges, with whom Brecht had dealt via Facebook hacking tools.
The report revealed that Brecht would be sentenced to 18 months in prison for crimes committed in cyberspace, including DDoS attacks on Crelan Bank. He was also sentenced to pay 3,000 euros in the bank to offset the impact of the DDoS attack, which temporarily crippled its online activities.
Apart from 18 months of cybercrime, he was also sentenced to three years in prison for Molotov cocktails and demanding ransom from Crelan Bank. Overall, he was expected to remain in prison for four years and six months.
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