14 DAY TRIAL // The main driving force behind the Team GhostShell hacking crew, the hacker known as GhostShell, has decided to reveal his true identity in a joint interview with DataBreaches.net and CyberWarNews.info.
The hacker, who's been active since early 2012, is the man behind hundreds of hacks that led to the disclosure of millions of personal records.
Some of his previous targets include many Alexa Top 1000 websites, a plethora of university portals, almost any US government agency you can think of, large corporations, and many other.
Most of his work has been carried out under the moniker of GhostShell, but the hacker says that he also released leaks as Anonymous when he thought it would benefit the cause more than using his name.
Despite high-profile targets, GhostShell still hasn't been caught
The larger part of his work was done between 2012 and the end of 2013, when the hacker stopped publishing data leaks but said he never stopped hacking, focusing on more high-profile targets.
Pioneering the concept of dark hacktivism, GhostShell made a name for himself in the world of hacktivism, being one of the few who escaped all these years without being arrested.
We've seen Anonymous members get arrested, LulzSec members, some of the more recent CWA hackers, but GhostShell, or his team, has never been in the press for these reasons.
GhostShell is a 24-year-old Romanian from Bucharest
In a tell-all interview with Dissent, the administrator of DataBreaches.net, GhostShell decided to dox himself, in one of the strangest moves a hacker has ever done.
According to a copy of an older passport the hacker sent to Dissent, GhostShell's real name is Razvan Eugen Gheorghe, a 24-year-old Romanian living in Bucharest, the country's capital.
To remove any cloud of doubt about the authenticity of his actions, the hacker proved his identity by giving Dissent the credentials to his PasteBin profile, from which he published all previous data leaks.
One of the world's most talented hackers can't get a legitimate job in real life
As GhostShell explains, the reason behind his move has something to do with his real-life situation, one in which a top-level hacker can't find a legitimate, white-hat job in the industry.
"Also let it be known for future generations to come that I am literally the only person in history from my country that has to prove his worth even after everything that’s happened just so I can get a job in the industry despite every 10 year old that defaced or ddosed random websites getting autohired. I am truly a legend of something," GhostShell says.
His frustration at the oxymoron he's in is obvious. GhostShell, one of the most active yet still at large hackers, is literally hoping to get arrested and reach a plea deal to provide his services for good, just for the chance at a legitimate job in the field of cyber-security.
Below is a map showing GhostShell's home address (from his passport) and the headquarters of DIICOT, Romania’s infamous and highly efficient Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism unit that previously arrested Guccifer, another Romanian hacker who's been very active in recent years.
GhostShell lives 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) away from DIICOT. It would be only a 10-minute drive for authorities if they ever wanted to arrest him.
