Spanish police arrest 16-year-old suspected of operating crypto ransomware KillSec

Odaily News: Spanish police have arrested a 16-year-old Romanian national in Alicante on suspicion of being the administrator and primary operator of the KillSec ransomware group. Europol stated that law enforcement agencies have seized control of the group's servers and leak site, and preserved at least 110 TB of stolen data.

The operation involved searches at 8 residences across Spain, Greece, Romania, and the United Kingdom, investigating approximately 1,000 suspected attacks worldwide, of which about 500 have been confirmed successful. Two other suspects in their 20s were arrested in the UK and Romania respectively, while a Dutch national residing in the UK was indicted and arrested in Puerto Rico, awaiting extradition.

KillSec has been active since around 2024, often demanding ransoms in cryptocurrency and carrying out double extortion through encrypted servers and threats to publish stolen data. Investigators are tracing the group's proceeds, including cryptocurrency; Europol's European Cybercrime Centre provided cryptocurrency tracing and digital forensics support. (Decrypt)