Alleged member of ShinyHunters group extradited to the US, could face 116 years in jail

An
alleged
member
of
the
ShinyHunters
cybercrime
gang
has
been
extradited
from
Morocco
to
the
United
States.

Sebastien
Raoult,
a
French
national
who
is
suspected
of
being
a
member
of

ShinyHunters
cybercrime
gang
known
as
“Seyzo
Kaizen,”
has
been
extradited
from
Morocco
to
the
United
States.

The
22-year-old
man
was
arrested
in
Morocco
at
Rabat
international
airport
in
Morocco
on
May
31,
2022,
while
trying
to
take
a
flight
to
Brussels.

Raoult
and
two
other
co-conspirators
are
charged
with
having
hacked
into
protected
computers
of
corporate
entities
and
for
the
theft
of
stolen
proprietary
information. 

“According
to
the
indictment,
Raoult
was
a
participant
in
a
hacking
group
that
dubbed
itself
the
“ShinyHunters.” 
The
conspirators
allegedly
hacked
into
protected
computers
of
corporate
entities
for
the
theft
of
proprietary
and
corporate
information. 
The
group
advertised
sensitive
stolen
data
for
sale
and
sometimes
threatened
to
leak
or
sell
stolen
sensitive
files
if
the
victim
did
not
pay
a
ransom.”
reads
the


press
release
published
by
DoJ. “Since
early
2020,
ShinyHunters
Group
has
marketed
and
promoted
data
stolen
from
more
than
60
companies
in
Washington
State
and
elsewhere
around
the
world.”

The
group
offered
the
stolen
data
for
sale
and
sometimes
threatened
to
leak
it
if
the
victim
did
not
pay
a
ransom.

It
has
been
estimated
that
since
early
2020,
the
ShinyHunters
group
has
targeted
more
than
60
companies
worldwide
(including

Tokopedia, Homechef, Chatbooks.com, Microsoft,

AT&T,
and Minted).

The
indictment
also
charges
23-year-old
Gabriel
Kimiaie-Asadi
Bildstein
aka
“Kuroi”
and
“Gnostic
Players,”
of
Tarbes,
France,
and
22-year-old
Abdel-Hakim
El
Ahmadi
aka
“Zac”
and
“Jordan
Keso”
of
Lyon,
France.

If
convicted,
Raoult
could
face
up
to
116
years
in
prison.
The
defendant’s
lawyer,
Philip
Ohayon
has
commented
on
the
extradition
to
the
US
saying
that
“France
has
abandoned
him.”

“The
conspiracy
to
commit
computer
fraud
and
abuse
charge
is
punishable
by
a
maximum
of
ten
years
in
prison. 
The
conspiracy
to
commit
wire
fraud
count
is
punishable
by
a
maximum
of
27
years
in
prison. 
Wire
fraud
is
punishable
by
a
maximum
of
20
years
in
prison.”
concludes
the
Press
Release.
“Aggravated
identity
theft
is
punishable
by
a
mandatory
minimum
two-year
prison
term
to
follow
any
other
prison
sentence
imposed
in
the
case.”

Follow
me
on
Twitter:


@securityaffairs
and


Facebook
and


Mastodon

Pierluigi Paganini

(SecurityAffairs –

hacking,
cybercrime)

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About Author

AndyC

Andy Curtis is an award-winning security consultant, researcher and public speaker. He has been working in the computer security industry since the early 1990s, having been employed by state and federal government, leading healthcare and banking providers across three continents. He has given talks about computer security for some of the world’s largest companies, worked with law enforcement agencies on investigations into hacking groups, and is a regular voice on TV and radio explaining IT security threats.

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