Japan Arrests Qilin Ransomware Member and Extradites Him to Germany
Summary
A 28-year-old Russian man suspected of belonging to Qilin was arrested in Japan and extradited to Germany over a ransomware attack on a German logistics company. The article also describes Qilin’s activity and rising ransomware incidents in Japan.
Key points
- Japanese authorities arrested the man in Osaka last May and handed him to German authorities on October 2.
- He is suspected of infiltrating a German logistics company’s network in September 2024, stealing data, and demanding $165,000 in Bitcoin to keep it from being disclosed.
- Qilin operates a ransomware-as-a-service model in which its core team provides malware and criminal infrastructure while recruited affiliates carry out attacks.
- An NCC Group report cited in the article counted 1,022 Qilin attacks last year, the highest among ransomware groups, within a worldwide total of 7,874 attacks.
- Japan recorded 123 ransomware cases in the first half of this year, its highest half-year total since tracking began in 2020; VPNs accounted for about half of infection routes over the period cited.
- A ransomware attack on Osaka Public University caused about 500 servers to go offline; systems holding information on at least 130,000 current and former students were compromised.
Article Details
- Event Type
- Arrest and extradition of a suspected Qilin ransomware group member
- Impact
- The man is suspected of stealing data from a German logistics company in September 2024 and demanding $165,000 in Bitcoin to avoid disclosing it. The article does not report whether the ransom was paid.
Threat Actors
AkiraRansomware group listed in NCC Group's reported attack counts.Cl0pRansomware group listed in NCC Group's reported attack counts.KillinThe article's image caption names this hacking group as listing victims and claiming responsibility for the Asahi Group Holdings attack.LockBitRansomware group whose influence the article says declined after a 2024 law-enforcement crackdown.QilinRansomware group to which the arrested man allegedly belonged; it claimed responsibility for an attack on Asahi Group Holdings.
Countries
Germanyransomware attacks against companies and institutions worldwide, was arrested in Japan and extradited to Germany. As large-scale personal information leaks have continued to occur in Japan recently, vigilance againstJapanrepeatedly carried out ransomware attacks against companies and institutions worldwide, was arrested in Japan and extradited to Germany. As large-scale personal information leaks have continued to occur in JapanRussia
Industries
Educationlogisticsto German authorities on the 2nd. The man is suspected of infiltrating the computer network of a German logistics company in September 2024, extracting data, and then demanding 165,000 dollars (approximately 230Manufacturingthe 1,021 cases over the past five years occurred in small and medium-sized enterprises. By industry, manufacturing suffered the most damage, and virtual private networks (VPNs) accounted for about half of the