Key members of "Kirin" arrested by German authorities, Japan detained - hacker group achieves results through international collaboration

The National Police Agency announced on the 8th that German investigative authorities have arrested a man who is a member of the international hacker group Qilin, who was detained in Japan and extradited to Germany. The man is a 28-year-old Russian national and one of the core members who manage the group. Based on information from Germany, the Japanese side identified and secured the whereabouts.

Since around October 2022, Kirin has been repeatedly attacked by ransomware, a computer virus that demands ransoms, in countries around the world, causing damage to approximately 4,000 companies. The suspected method is double extortion, demanding a ransom in exchange for the recovery of encrypted data, and then threatening to release the data if you don't pay.

They also announced a statement of responsibility for the cyber attack on Asahi Group Holdings. According to the agency, damage has been confirmed at 53 businesses, hospitals, schools, etc. in Japan since April 2023.

According to the agency, German authorities had obtained an arrest warrant for the man on extortion charges after he allegedly launched an attack on a German company and extorted crypto assets. The National Police Agency's Cyber ​​Special Investigation Department learned that the man was planning to come to Japan for sightseeing in May, and through a joint investigation with the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department and the Osaka and Kyoto prefectural police, they determined where he would be staying. In the same month, a man was arrested at a hotel in Osaka.

The man was extradited to Germany in October following a Tokyo High Court decision based on the ``Fugitive Extradition Act,'' which stipulates the custody of criminal cases committed in other countries.

At Kirin, there are many executors working under the ``core members'' who develop viruses and manage systems, and who use provided ransomware to infiltrate and intimidate. The man is said to be a core member.

A senior agency official said, ``The international collaboration has resulted in great success in identifying and arresting the members.We hope that progress will be made in unraveling the full story, including domestic damage.''