Australian cyber spies infiltrated a multimillion-dollar data warehousing operation run by Russian criminals in Siberia. The operation, hosted by ZServers, contained stolen sensitive health information from millions of Australians, pilfered from the insurer Medibank in 2022. The Australian Signals Directorate tracked the data back to the five-member team behind ZServers, exploiting their careless digital footprint.
Siberian nightlife has its opportunities. Just ask Australian cyber spies, who used local criminals’ decision to enjoy a vodka-soaked night to bust a multimillion-dollar business run by Russians warehousing stolen data.
All 520 gigabytes of names, birthdates, addresses, contact information, Medicare numbers and passport details in 9.7 million records were sitting on servers operated by five Russians in the obscure industrial town on the West Siberian Plain, three hours drive from the Kazakhstan border. ZServers advertised its services on hacking forums, claimed to have been operating since 2011 and offered various hosting services to the underworld. It had “Brute” for forced entry into secure systems, “Scan” for assessing vulnerabilities and “Cracking Allowed”, for evading security.
Fuller, the directorate executive, says ZServers’ boast to offer impenetrable hosting was just marketing. “They’re no more secure than any other service that’s operating in this illicit environment,” Fuller says. As the ZServers crew made money, they flaunted it. “They don’t call it ‘shyber’ crime,” Fuller says. “ live openly and out there. They’re making their profits, and they’re living a really good life in Russia.” Sidorov, the oldest ZServers figure, bought a speedboat and posted pictures of his outdoor adventures. Bolshakov, the weightlifter, posed with weaponry.
CYBERSPY DATA BREACH RUSSIA AUSTRALIA CRIME HACKING
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