The Ukrainian Security Service Has Arrested the “Sanix” Hacker

• Hacker “Sanix” was arrested in Ukraine by the SBU after someone provided information about him.
• The person was linked with the “Collection #1” data trove that was offered for sale a while back.
• This is not the end of hacking, but it was a big win for law enforcement since Sanix was one of the big players in the field.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU – Sluzhba Bezpeky Ukrayiny) has announced the arrest of a hacker who goes by the nickname “Sanix.” The person was selling stolen data on dark web forums, including people’s login credentials (emails and passwords) to a large number of online platforms. “Sanix” has been connected with the 87GB “Collection #1” dump, which is the most massive leak ever to have appeared online. Sanix proceeded to add more sets of data in the “Collection” later on, as well as “fresher” data that was acquired from various sources.

In the SBU announcement, the law enforcement agency talks about information that they received about the particular hacker, which led them to monitor the activities of a resident of the Ivano-Frankivsk region. The specialists in the Ukrainian police recorded the sale of databases from Sanix, containing email account credentials, access to botnets, e-wallets for cryptos, PayPal accounts, and more. The police raided the hacker’s home and confiscated computer hardware containing a total of two terabytes of stolen data, bundled in packs, and offered for sale on the dark web. Moreover, the police seized $3,000 and 190,000 Ukrainian Hryvnia (about $6,500).

https://youtu.be/thsBj_NR_Ko

Now, Sanix is facing accusations relating to Part 2 of Art. 361, part 1 of Art. 361-2 of the Criminal code of Ukraine, so an imprisonment sentence is considered very probable. The hacker may have been popularized in the media thanks to a sale of older data that were bundled together from various sources, but that doesn’t mean that he was inactive. When Krebs on Security approached the hacker on Telegram, he prompted the researcher to take a look at more recent leaks that he had on offer, as the “popular” collection was already three years old at the time of its publication.

That said, this is an arrest that has positive effects on the safety and security of internet users. While data breaches and the sale of credentials won’t come to an abrupt end just thanks to this, it is good to see a significant source of trouble getting thrown in the cell. To protect yourself against these dumps, make sure that you are using unique and strong passwords, or even better, long passphrases. If remembering isn’t your forte, just pick a password manager and store everything there.