UK Police Officer Warned Criminal Friend About Top-Secret Operation Targeting EncroChat Platform
Read also: Interpol disrupts thousands of cyber networks responsible for $40M in losses, Two founders of Tornado Cash crypto mixer accused of money laundering in the US, and more.
Thursday, August 24, 2023
UK police officer admits leaking secret info on Encrochat hack to a criminal
A Cheshire police analyst illegally accessed sensitive information and warned her criminal friend about a then top-secret operation targeting the encrypted communications platform EncroChat used by criminals.
According to the authorities, Natalie Mottram, 24, alerted her friend, Jonathan Kay, to the hack of EncroChat and told him that he was also under police investigation. A friend of Kay’s then cautioned another EncroChat user that police infiltrated the platform. By June 2020, National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators suspected Mottram was responsible for the leak and set a trap for her and her pals.
Mottram was arrested on June 12, 2020. On August 18, 2023, she pleaded guilty at Liverpool Crown Court to misconduct in public office, perverting the course of justice and unauthorized access to computer material. Mottram’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for November 3, 2023.
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A SIM-swapper gets 3 years in prison for stealing $20M from cryptocurrency owners
A SIM-swapper has been sentenced to 36 months in prison for his role in a social engineering scheme that stole more than $20 million from cryptocurrency owners.
As part of the scheme, Anthony Francis Faulk, 26, together with his co-conspirators, Matthew Ditman and Ahmad Hared, tricked cellphone operators into transferring a victim's phone number to a SIM card under their control. The crooks would then reset the passwords of their victims’ email and cryptocurrency accounts and steal crypto assets.
In addition to the 3-year prison sentence, Faulk was also ordered to pay nearly $3 million in restitution. Hared and Ditman were separately charged. Hared’s sentencing is set for August 31, 2023, and Ditman’s for October 12, 2023.
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Hackers stole personal details of the Bern canton police employees
More than 2,800 police officers from the Bern canton police (Switzerland) had their personal information stolen after a threat actor exploited a previously unknown vulnerability in an Ivanti MobileIron software.
The data breach took place in June 2023 and affected all of Bern police officers who have mobile phones, the authorities said. The compromised information included the first names, surnames and mobile phone numbers. Currently, there’s no indication that the stolen data was leaked on the internet.
It appears that the attackers exploited the same vulnerability that was abused in a June attack on the Norwegian parliament that targeted at least 12 ministries.
International police disrupt thousands of cyber networks responsible for $40M in losses
A collaborative police effort known as Africa Cyber Surge II involving law enforcement agencies across 25 African countries has resulted in the disruption of 20,674 suspicious cyber networks responsible for $40 million in losses, and the arrest of 14 suspected cybercriminals.
As part of the operation, launched in April 2023, three suspects linked to a $850,000 scam were arrested in Cameroon, and two money mules linked to scams conducted via messaging platforms were caught in Mauritius.
In Gambia, the police took down 185 IP addresses linked to malicious activities. Also, two darknet websites were shut down by Cameroonian authorities, and 615 malware hosters were dismantled in Kenya.
Two founders of Tornado Cash crypto mixer accused of money laundering in the US
The US Department of Justice has charged two founders of the cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash with money laundering, sanctions violation and running an unlicensed money transmitting business.
The authorities allege that Roman Storm, 34, of Auburn, Washington, and Roman Semenov, 49, of Russia founded, operated and promoted a crypto mixing service named Tornado Cash that helped cybercriminals to launder more than $1 billion, including laundering millions of dollars for the well-known North Korean government-backed cybercrime outfit Lazarus Group.
Roman Storm was arrested on August 23, 2023, in Washington. Both Storm and Semenov, who reportedly resides in Dubai, have been added to the US OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List. Both men could face up to 45 years in prison if found guilty.
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Key Dutch has been working in information technology and cybersecurity for over 20 years, starting his first job with Windows 95 and dial-up modems. As the Editor-in-Chief of our Cybercrime Prosecution Weekly blog series, he compiles the most interesting news about police operations against cybercrime, as well as about regulatory actions enforcing data protection and privacy law. 
