Elliot Gunton, 19, resident of Norwich, offered hacking-for-hire services and supplied personal data in exchange for cryptocurrencies.
After conducting a search in his home to ensure that Gunton was not violating his Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which had been imposed by the court in 2016, the UK police had confiscated his laptop and identified cybercrime-enabling software on it.
It was revealed that Gunton was taking part in SIM-swapping attacks, whereby a criminal could convince a user’s mobile company to transfer the user’s number to a phone under their control – thus allowing third parties to intercept calls and messages to commit fraud.
The police also found evidence of Gunton advertising compromised data and offering hacking-for-hire services.
The 19-year-old had made approximately £275,000 in Bitcoin, which officers were able to trace and seize despite his efforts to hide it.
Gunton was immediately released from court after he had served his sentence whilst being on remand. The courts have however ordered him to pay back £407,359 and was issued a 42 month Community Behaviour Order whereby for him to access the internet, he must abide by some strict terms.
The order prevents Gunton from using VPNs or the Tor anonymity network, as well as prevents Gunton from deleting internet history. Additionally, he is not allowed to use a browser in “incognito mode” and can not use any cloud storage services unless he notifies an officer.
“This was a complex investigation which relied on the expertise of officers and staff from the Norfolk and Suffolk Cybercrime Unit. This emerging type of criminality requires police investigators to be at the forefront of technological advancements in order to effectively combat the ever-growing paradigm of cybercrime,” said Detective Sergeant Mark Stratford.
Article originally published on PrivSec:Report
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