ShinyHunters suspect arrested, and is now investigated over alleged murder plots
An alleged key figure in the ShinyHunters cybercrime group has been arrested in the Netherlands, and – in a grotesque turn – the 24-year-old suspect is also being investigated for attempting to arrange two murders.
The 24-year-old from Amsterdam, whom Dutch police have not named, was arrested on September 15 on suspicion of playing a role within the ShinyHunters criminal organisation. Although the authorities are declining to name the individual, celebrated cybersecurity blogger Brian Krebs has identified him as Pepijn van der Stap, a convicted hacker.
According to police, a search of the suspect’s laptop uncovered details of two murders that “were to be committed abroad.” The suggestion is that the man attempted to solicit the murder of others, rather than was intending to carry out the murders himself.
The identities of those targeted in the murder plots, or which countries were involved, or even if anybody was ever recruited to commit the crime, are all details which have not been released by the police. It is understood that the digital forensic work is ongoing, and that further arrests have not been ruled out. In an indication of the seriousness with which the case is being treated by the authorities, a Rotterdam court has ordered the man to be held for at least another three months.
Police have stressed that the allegations of plotting to have people murdered are being investigated separately from the cybercriminal activities of the ShinyHunters group. They also said that the individual was not arrested as part of the investigation into the hack of Dutch telecoms firm Odido, where the data of more than 6.2 million people was stolen in February.
With details frustratingly brief from the Dutch police, one has to turn to the likes of Brian Krebs, who describes how in 2023 Van der Stap was convicted for stealing data, which prosecutors said earnt him between €1.5 million and €2.7 million. Krebs says that while working as a software engineer at a security firm, Van der Stap (using the online handle “Umbreon”) extorted payments from his victims.
Van der Stap was released from prison in December last year, and has since been working as a penetration tester at Amsterdam-based Neo Security.
The company’s CEO Benjamin Korper told Reuters that on the day of Van der Stap’s arrest Neo Security’s office was visited by investigators, and that no evidence has been found to date that its systems or customers had been compromised.
Notably, Van der Stap appears to claim on his personal website that he is a reformed character. While he admits that his journey “hasn’t been a straight line”, he says that his experiences have taught him that “knowledge is for building and protecting, not breaking.”
Opinion is split on whether Van der Stap is a key figure within the ShinyHunters hacking gang or not, and – of course – he has not yet been through the legal process. That hasn’t stopped FBI Director Kash Patel from describing the arrested man as “one of the alleged leaders of ShinyHunters”.
ShinyHunters for its part have told the media that “that individual has no association with us.”
Only time is likely to tell if that is true or not. But in the meantime, the FBI has issued a stark message to the group’s remaining members.
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