Phuket law enforcement has arrested four Russians suspected of orchestrating ransomware attacks on Swiss companies and stealing millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.
The defendants are said to have used ransomware on the networks of 2023 Swiss companies between April 2024 and October 17. The Russians allegedly used the Phobos malware, which blocked the victims' data. The hackers then demanded a ransom, usually in cryptocurrency, to restore access to the information.
The defendants may have been part of the 8Base hacker group, which is suspected of stealing nearly $16 million worth of bitcoins from about 1000 victims worldwide.
The suspects were wanted by authorities in the United States and Switzerland, said Police Lt. Gen. Trairong Phiewphan, commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau.
Thai police, along with immigration officials, tracked them down in Phuket and seized more than 40 items of evidence, including laptops, smartphones and digital wallets. Switzerland has already requested their extradition to face charges.
Phuket has been mentioned a lot in recent times in connection with cryptocurrency-related crimes. In January, a Russian citizen was attacked by two of his compatriots over a debt in digital assets and stole $20,000 from him.