Dutch police arrest security professional in ShinyHunters investigation

Dutch police arrest security professional in ShinyHunters investigation

The arrest of the 24-year-old 'reformed hacker' left his boss 'flabbergasted'

A Dutch man whose journey from cybercriminal to reformed security professional was widely covered in the international media has been arrested ‌as part of an investigation into the hacker group ShinyHunters, Dutch police and the man's boss said on Monday.

In a statement posted to the social media site X, Dutch police said that a ​24-year-old man had been arrested in connection with the ​inquiry and would appear in court in Rotterdam on Tuesday.

The statement did not identify the man by name, but ​his boss, Benjamin Korper of Amsterdam-based cybersecurity company Neo Security, said it ⁠was Pepijn van ⁠der Stap, the company's offensive security ‌lead.

In a telephone interview with Reuters, Korper said his office was visited by Dutch forensic investigators on Sept. 15, the same night Van der Stap was arrested in a police raid.

Van der Stap's ⁠2023 convictions on data theft and extortion charges received widespread publicity, as did his subsequent disavowal of cybercrime. Korper said he had carefully vetted Van der Stap before hiring him ‌and was shocked by the arrest.

"Absolutely everybody I talked to is flabbergasted,” he said.

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He said he had hired an outside firm to investigate whether Van der Stap had hacked Neo Security or its customers, ​but so far investigators have found no evidence that he acted against his employer or its clients.

Korper ⁠said he had not been in touch with Van der Stap since the ⁠arrest. Attempts by Reuters to reach Van der Stap or identify a ⁠lawyer ⁠or representative were not immediately successful.

News ​of Van der Stap's arrest was first reported by independent journalist Brian Krebs.

ShinyHunters ​is a hacking group ⁠known for large-scale data thefts and extortion, most notable of late for the alleged hack of the FBI, where it boasted of stealing a large amount of data about current and former FBI employees.