Spanish police on Wednesday said they had arrested a hacker who launched dozens of cyberattacks on strategic institutions including the US army, NATO, the United Nations and the defence ministry.
Investigators began their probe in February 2024 after a Madrid-based business association suffered data theft, recording more than 40 cyberattacks on international and Spanish institutions throughout the year.
Among the targets were the US army, NATO, the UN, the Spanish defence and education ministries, the Civil Guard, universities and the International Civil Aviation Organization, police said in a statement.
The hacker gained access to databases with information about employees and clients as well as internal documents that were then sold or published on internet forums.
The suspect claimed the attacks on forums on the “dark web” under various pseudonyms and used anonymous messaging and browsing apps to avoid identification.
The most recent attack, on the Civil Guard and the defence ministry in December, led the authorities to identify and arrest the suspect in the southeastern Alicante region on Tuesday.
The hacker, suspected of revealing secrets, illegal access and damage to IT systems and money laundering, also held more than 50 cryptocurrency accounts with various assets.
EU law enforcement agency Europol and the US Homeland Security Investigations contributed to the operation.
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