Dutch Hacker Steals Data from Company, Blackmails Them and Gets Arrested the Next Day

Authorities arrested a hacker in Purmerend, Netherlands on accusations that he stole data on hundreds of thousands of customers from a company then tried to blackmail the firm by threatening to publish the information.

Theft of information from computer systems usually follows ransomware attacks, but criminals sometimes only try to exfiltrate data. According to the police press release, the attacker hit a Haarlem-based company, stealing information on hundreds of thousands of customers.

"The police received a report on Monday from a company that had fallen victim to a data theft," reads the press release. "The perpetrator had stolen sensitive data, including financial and personal information, from the company's database. The suspect then contacted the company and demanded a large sum of money in exchange for not disclosing the stolen information to the public."

The hacker allegedly demanded 50,000 euros in Bitcoin by Friday afternoon, or he would proceed to publish the information on the dark net. The company contacted police immediately after the blackmail request and hired a specialized organization to investigate, which also revealed the identity of the accused.

Police promptly arrested the man at his home in Amsterdam and confiscated his computer and other hardware. They also found further evidence of the data theft and extortion attempt. Many of these crimes remain unsolved as the criminals reside in other countries, sometimes far from the police jurisdiction of the victims, but this is one case where the entire security incident had a happy ending.