Khmelnytskyi region exposes hacker who set up a “startup” to access sanctioned Russian websites
Kyiv • UNN
A 28-year-old man organized a VPN service to circumvent NSDC sanctions. He provided access to 48 million Russian IP addresses using servers in Europe and Russia.
In Khmelnytsky region, police exposed a 28-year-old man who organized a service for accessing sanctioned Russian websites. This was reported by the National Police of Ukraine, UNN reports.
Cyberpolice of Khmelnytskyi region together with investigators of the Main Department of the National Police and employees of the SBU Office in the region under the procedural supervision of the Khmelnytskyi Regional Prosecutor's Office terminated the activity of an online service that provided access to the websites of the aggressor country, bypassing the NSDC sanctions restrictions,
Details
Law enforcers identified a 28-year-old self-taught hacker from Khmelnytskyi city who organized an illegal VPN service shortly after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.
"Startup allowed access to more than 48 million IP addresses of the Russian segment of the Internet, bypassing NSDC sanctions. According to the investigation, the daily volume of network traffic exceeded 100 gigabytes.
To set up Internet traffic with the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and regions of Russia, the defendant equipped an autonomous server room in his apartment.
In addition, the attacker rented servers located in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Russia. As a result, enemy intelligence services had technical access to information about all users of the VPN service.
The man advertised his service in his own Telegram channels and thematic communities, as well as on a world-famous IT resource, where he positioned himself as a project developer and looked for like-minded people.
Police searched the residences of the offender and his possible accomplices in Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr. They found and seized server equipment, computer equipment, and mobile phones containing evidence of the illegal activity.
Currently, the police are analyzing the array of information from the seized gadgets to identify the suspect's accomplices and sources of funding for his "business". A version of the hacker's cooperation with Russian agents is being worked out.
Investigators served the defendant a notice of suspicion under Part 5 of Article 361 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Unauthorized interference with the operation of information (automated), electronic communication, information and communication systems, electronic communication networks committed during martial law). He faces up to 15 years in prison with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years.
