Dutch Police Arrest 'Reformed' Hacker In Shiny Hunters Investigation (krebsonsecurity.com)
(Wednesday September 30, 2026 @11:00AM (BeauHD)
from the brought-to-justice dept.)
- Reference: 0185903768
- News link: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/26/09/30/055208/dutch-police-arrest-reformed-hacker-in-shiny-hunters-investigation
- Source link: https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/09/dutch-police-arrest-reformed-hacker-in-shiny-hunters-investigation/
An anonymous reader quotes a report from KrebsOnSecurity:
> Authorities in the Netherlands have [1]arrested a 24-year-old convicted cybercriminal on suspicion of aiding in data thefts and extortions by the prolific hacker group ShinyHunters. In the days immediately following the suspect's arrest, remaining ShinyHunters members dramatically escalated their attacks, stealing highly sensitive data from the FBI and extorting the Russian ransomware group Cl0p. According to three sources familiar with the matter, the Dutch man [2]arrested by authorities this month is Pepijn van der Stap, a convicted cybercriminal from Almere and Lelystad in the Netherlands. Van der Stap was previously convicted in 2023 in connection with a string of data thefts and extortions that prosecutors said earned between 1.5 million euros and 2.7 million euros.
>
> At his trial in late 2023, van der Stap admitted that he lived a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde existence, secretly using the hacker handle "Umbreon" to extort victims and post their data on English language hacking communities like the now-defunct RaidForums and Breached. By day, however, van der Stap was working as a software engineer at the Amsterdam-based cybersecurity startup Hadrian, while volunteering at the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure (DIVD), a nonprofit security research group. Van der Stap confessed to his data theft and extortion activity, and was sentenced to four years in prison (one of which was suspended).
Van der Stap had publicly presented himself as a "reformed hacker" after serving prison time for data theft and extortion. In a Sept. 9 interview, KrebsOnSecurity said he claimed he was trying "to turn his life around and make a positive contribution to society," while working in offensive security and attempting to make amends to former victims.
[1] https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/09/dutch-police-arrest-reformed-hacker-in-shiny-hunters-investigation/
[2] https://x.com/Pol_Ops_Int/status/2104607979559342174
> Authorities in the Netherlands have [1]arrested a 24-year-old convicted cybercriminal on suspicion of aiding in data thefts and extortions by the prolific hacker group ShinyHunters. In the days immediately following the suspect's arrest, remaining ShinyHunters members dramatically escalated their attacks, stealing highly sensitive data from the FBI and extorting the Russian ransomware group Cl0p. According to three sources familiar with the matter, the Dutch man [2]arrested by authorities this month is Pepijn van der Stap, a convicted cybercriminal from Almere and Lelystad in the Netherlands. Van der Stap was previously convicted in 2023 in connection with a string of data thefts and extortions that prosecutors said earned between 1.5 million euros and 2.7 million euros.
>
> At his trial in late 2023, van der Stap admitted that he lived a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde existence, secretly using the hacker handle "Umbreon" to extort victims and post their data on English language hacking communities like the now-defunct RaidForums and Breached. By day, however, van der Stap was working as a software engineer at the Amsterdam-based cybersecurity startup Hadrian, while volunteering at the Dutch Institute for Vulnerability Disclosure (DIVD), a nonprofit security research group. Van der Stap confessed to his data theft and extortion activity, and was sentenced to four years in prison (one of which was suspended).
Van der Stap had publicly presented himself as a "reformed hacker" after serving prison time for data theft and extortion. In a Sept. 9 interview, KrebsOnSecurity said he claimed he was trying "to turn his life around and make a positive contribution to society," while working in offensive security and attempting to make amends to former victims.
[1] https://krebsonsecurity.com/2026/09/dutch-police-arrest-reformed-hacker-in-shiny-hunters-investigation/
[2] https://x.com/Pol_Ops_Int/status/2104607979559342174
If the LLM makers step up their hacking efforts (Score:2)
by gweihir ( 88907 )
Guys like these will be out of a job. No surprise they try to attack what the can now.
Re: (Score:2)
It's a Pokemon reference. They (allegedly) hunt shiny Pokemon. But similar to foil cards, they serve no purpose other than to provide satisfaction from collecting.