A Dutch national has been sentenced to seven years in prison for computer hacking and attempted extortion, following a case that involved the cracked encrypted dialog service Sky ECC.
The man was initially convicted in 2022,but appealed the sentance,arguing that evidence was obtained through the unlawful interception of his communications. These communications took place on Sky ECC, a service Europol compromised in 2021, leading to the arrest of its CEO and numerous users. The impact of this operation continued into last year.
The court dismissed one drug-related charge concerning the attempted import of 5,000 kg of cocaine, but upheld the original conviction and remaining charges. The court rejected objections to the use of Sky-ECC messages, finding no evidence of procedural violations impacting the defendant’s right to a fair trial.
The man compromised servers in the ports of Rotterdam, Barendrecht, and Antwerp to facilitate undetected drug imports. according to the court, “He is guilty of complicity in computer hacking…the purpose of this was to gain access to port systems so he could then import drugs undetected, thus facilitating drug trafficking.”
He breached the IT systems of a port logistics firm by having employees insert USB drives containing malware. It remains unclear whether these employees were tricked or bribed.This allowed him to install a remote access tool, exfiltrate data, and intercept transmissions.
Between September 15, 2020, and April 24, 2021, he also attempted to sell malware and instructions for its use.
Ultimately, he received a seven-year sentence for computer hacking to facilitate drug trafficking, importing 210kg of cocaine, and attempted extortion.
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