German authorities extradited a 28-year-old Russian man from Japan who is suspected of being involved with the Qilin hacking group. The man was detained in Osaka in May, after which he was handed over to Germany for investigation. Bild reports, according to UNN.
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The German authorities believe that 28-year-old Russian Vladimir K. is a member of the Qilin hacking group. He was detained in Osaka in May. According to German investigators, he operated under the pseudonym Snake as part of a group of eight people who form Qilin’s core. The group engages in cyberattacks and extortion and has already harmed thousands of companies and government institutions around the world.
The “Albus” special commission of the North Rhine–Westphalia State Criminal Police Office had been secretly investigating the hackers’ activities since mid-2024. German investigators managed to infiltrate the group’s infrastructure and the suspect’s computer, establish his identity, and track his trip to Japan. When the Russian man went on vacation to Tokyo, he was detained under an international warrant.
North Rhine–Westphalia Interior Minister Herbert Reul called the detention “the greatest success by German investigators in the fight against cybercrime.” According to him, this is the first case in which a Russian hacker has been detained outside Russia. The international search for other alleged members of Qilin’s core is ongoing.
The scale of Qilin’s activities is enormous. According to German authorities, 3,954 victims of the group are known worldwide, while the total ransom demands reached $2.88 billion. The victims paid the hackers at least $140 million.