The Administration “K” of the MIA of Russia, with the assistance of Group-IB, an international company specializing in the prevention of cyberattacks and the development of information security products, detained two cybercriminals who were breaking into and stealing the accounts of loyalty program members from popular online stores, payment systems and bookmakers. In total, about 700,000 accounts were compromised, 2,000 of which the hackers put up for sale for $5 each. The detainees admitted on the spot that they had earned at least 500,000 rubles. However, the real amount of damage remains to be determined.
The investigation began in November 2015, after a large-scale cyberattack was made on the website of a large online store to gain access to the personal accounts of the store’s loyalty program members, who received bonuses for purchases. In a month, about 120,000 accounts were compromised.
