Legal
68-year-old imprisoned after making $1.3 million by pirating IPTV services
A 68-year-old has been sentenced in the U.K. to more than six years in prison for operating an illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service that generated £980,812 ($1.3 million) over three years. An investigation by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at the City of London Police found that Milan Ibrahim ran a “sophisticated […]
TikTok reaches $400M settlement with US over COPPA violations
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a $400 million settlement with TikTok, ByteDance, and affiliated companies over allegations that they violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The TikTok social media platform, owned by the Chinese technology company ByteDance, allows users to create, watch, and share short-form videos. In 2024, the U.S. Department of […]
US charges Iranian hackers over $3.4 billion intellectual property theft
The U.S. has charged 17 Iranians, alleged members of a hacking-for-hire company called Mabna Institute, involved in years-long operations that stole data from American organizations. Nine of the defendants were previously charged in a March 2018 indictment for hacking more than 300 universities and private companies. The U.S. Justice Department (DoJ) has also announced rewards of up […]
Hackers arrested over €30M bank fraud exploiting service provider flaw
Four cybercriminals were arrested in Brazil, and three others were charged in Europe over allegations that they exploited a vulnerability at a service provider, allowing them to withdraw funds from Commerzbank customers’ bank accounts. The theft, investigated by the Brazilian and German federal police agencies, occurred over four days in November 2023 and caused losses […]
Police dismantle Kratos phishing platform, arrest developer
Authorities in Germany and the U.S. dismantled the central infrastructure of Kratos, a phishing-as-a-service (PhaaS) platform with global reach, and its developer was arrested in Indonesia. During the operation, authorities seized more than 200 servers, effectively disrupting the malicious service and rendering it inoperable. The action was led by Frankfurt’s Prosecutor General Office (ZIT), Germany’s […]
Spanish Police take down €140 million cyber fraud ring, arrest four
The Spanish Police dismantled a cybercrime and money-laundering organization that made €140 million ($160 million) from investment fraud and business email compromise (BEC) attacks. As part of the law enforcement operation, four people were arrested in Spain, Portugal, and Panama. The police describe the operation as an industrial-level scheme as it involved at least 800 […]
Ryuk ransomware member pleads guilty in the US, faces 15 years in prison
A 34-year-old Armenian man has pleaded guilty to hacking U.S. companies and deploying the infamous Ryuk ransomware to encrypt their systems. Karen Serobovich Vardanyan was extradited to the United States after being arrested in Kyiv in April 2025 for providing initial access to corporate networks. According to court documents, Vardanyan helped deploy Ryuk ransomware on the networks […]
Google loses final appeal to overturn €4.1 billion EU fine
Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has dismissed Google’s final appeal against a €4.1 billion ($4.7 billion) antitrust fine over the company’s use of Android to promote its Chrome browser and search service. This is the conclusion of a European Commission decision in 2018 that Google abused its dominant market position by using Android agreements […]
DraftKings hacker ‘Snoopy’ sentenced to 18 months in prison
A 21-year-old using the alias “Snoopy” was sentenced to 18 months in prison for his role in hacking DraftKings accounts in the November 2022 cyberattack. In December 2025, the man, Nathan Austad of Minnesota, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, admitting that he and co-conspirators compromised 60,000 DraftKings user accounts. During the attack, the […]
Scattered Spider members plead guilty to hacking Transport for London
Two members of the ‘Scattered Spider’ cybercrime group pleaded guilty to hacking the Transport for London (TfL) systems in 2024. The two individuals, Thalha Jubair (20) and Owen Flowers (18), breached the systems of London’s transportation service between August 31 and September 3, 2024, causing millions of pounds in losses. Jubair and Flowers previously declined involvement in […]