Spanish National Police arrested a hacker responsible for multiple cyberattacks on government institutions in Spain, and the US Targets included the US Army, UN, NATO, and other agencies. Some of the breached organizations were the US Army, the United Nations, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and multiple Spanish government agencies. “The suspect, who claimed responsibility for the intrusions into dark web forums, managed to access the computer services of public and private entities, including the Civil Guard, the Ministry of Defense, the National Mint and Stamp Factory, the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, the Generalitat Valenciana, various Spanish universities, databases of NATO and the US Army, as well as other international companies and entities.” reads the press release published by the Spanish Police.
The arrest resulted from a law enforcement operation conducted by Spanish police and the Civil Guard, with the support of the National Cryptologic Centre (CCN) of the National Intelligence Centre (CNI). The man was arrested in Calpe (Alicante). During the search, the agents seized cryptocurrencies and various computer equipment.
The man is accused of multiple crimes, including the discovery and disclosure of secrets, illegal access to computer systems, computer damage, and money laundering. He was brought before a court and released with his passport confiscated to prevent travel. The investigation began in early 2024 after data stolen from a Madrid business association was leaked on dark web cybercrime forums. To avoid being identified, the hacker claimed responsibility for the attacks on multiple cybercrime forums under different monikers.
“Following these events, and during 2024, various cyberattacks against other entities, public bodies, and even Spanish universities took place.” continues the press release. “Subsequently, and using up to three different pseudonyms, he attacked international bodies and government-type organizations by accessing databases with personal information of employees and clients, as well as internal documents that were subsequently sold or freely published on forums.”
The suspect used anonymous messaging and browsing tools to create a complex network that concealed his identity, making detection difficult. “The suspect, who had extensive knowledge of computers, had managed to set up a complex technological network through anonymous messaging and browsing applications, through which he had managed to hide his tracks and thus make his identification difficult,” concludes the statement. “At the international level, there has been collaboration with EUROPOL and the USA's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).”
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is investigating a significant data breach that has raised concerns about the security of its systems and employees' data. In the updated statement by ICAO, the agency said it is “actively investigating reports of a potential information security incident allegedly linked to a threat actor known for targeting international organizations.”
This comes after the hacker arrested by the Spanish Police claimed in a January 5 post on a popular hacking forum to have accessed 42,000 documents from ICAO, including personal information (PII). “ICAO has confirmed that the reported information security incident involves approximately 42,000 recruitment application data records from April 2016 to July 2024 claimed to be released by the threat actor known as Natohub,” reads the statement published by the International Civil Aviation Organization. “After carefully reviewing the data, ICAO can now confirm that 11,929 individuals are affected. ICAO is now reaching out to these individuals.”
From this perspective, the actor was interested not in disrupting specific IT/OT processes but in acquiring targeted intelligence on particular individuals and their digital identity information. Such tactics are pertinent to traditional espionage and human intelligence (HUMINT), where cyberspace is a key channel for obtaining interest data. After carefully reviewing the data, ICAO confirmed that 11,929 individuals were affected. The compromised data includes recruitment-related information that applicants entered the compromised system, such as names, email addresses, dates of birth, and employment history.
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