14 DAY TRIAL // Authorities in Finland have arrested a man from Helsinki suspected of hacking into hundreds of websites and stealing the credentials of hundreds of thousands of users.
According to CERT Finland, the man stole usernames, email addresses, and passwords mainly from online forums and hosting service providers. In most cases he leveraged SQL Injection and cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities to steal the data.
The attacks started in the first half of 2012 and continued until the hacker was arrested.
Local authorities, cited by Yle, said the man had confessed to his crimes. He’s said to have targeted around 100 websites from Finland and around 200 from abroad.
The suspect’s computer has been seized. Investigators are currently analyzing the device.
The man has been released, since he doesn’t have a prior record. He has been banned from traveling, however.
Police identified him after receiving information from a foreign entity targeted by the hacker.