Ukrainian police have arrested a 35-year-old man accused of hacking into more than 5,000 user accounts belonging to an international web hosting company.
Authorities say he used the stolen access to run cryptocurrency mining operations, causing an estimated $4.5 million in damages.
According to police, the hacker gained unauthorized access to accounts on a hosting platform that rents servers for websites and online services. Once inside, he deployed virtual machines—software that acts like a real computer—to mine cryptocurrency using the company’s infrastructure.
Investigators say the suspect had been carrying out these activities since 2018. He used open-source tools and publicly available data to find weaknesses in the systems of global organizations. To avoid being caught, he frequently moved between cities in Ukraine, including Poltava, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk.
During a raid on his home, police seized computers, phones, bank cards, and other evidence. A review of these items showed links to hacker forums, stolen email credentials, crypto wallets with illegally mined coins, and scripts used to manage mining operations and steal data.
The suspect is being charged under Part 5 of Article 361 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, which could lead to up to 15 years in prison and additional restrictions after sentencing. The investigation is still ongoing, and more charges could follow as new evidence comes to light.
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It remains unclear whether the affected hosting customers will be held responsible for the electricity and server usage caused by the unauthorized mining.
