Arrests Made Following $10 Million 2FA Code Heist
Two arrested after $10 million 2FA code heist.
There's only one thing better than compromising your password as far as cybercriminals are concerned, and that's compromising your two-factor authentication code as well. After all, that second layer of protection is meant to stop hackers from accessing your accounts even if they have stolen your password. 2FA code bypass attacks have been a staple of my reporting, and now two of the players thought to be behind the JokerOTP 2FA code phishing tool have been arrested. But not before an estimated $10 million was stolen from victims using the platform.
Phishing attacks leading to 2FA code bypass are thought to be behind a massive surge in ransomware attacks, but the threat from both applies just as much to your Gmail and Microsoft account, as hackers look for the easiest way to access the data goldmine within. Indeed, the threat has become so widespread that the FBI has even issued an alert advising members of the public not to click on anything. Phishing-as-a-Service and 2FA code bypass tools have been fuelling this cybercrimewave, but law enforcement is on the case as evidenced by two arrests concerning the alleged operators of the JokerOTP platform.
An April 22 statement published by Cleveland Police in the U.K. has confirmed that two men have been arrested 'on suspicion of supplying articles for us in fraud, conspiracy to supply articles for use in fraud, fraud by false representation, fraud by false representation and unauthorised access to computer material, money laundering, blackmail and unauthorised access to material.' That's a long list of suspicions, but they all revolve around the operation and supply of the JokerOTP 2FA code phishing platform. The arrests, one by Dutch police, come as part of a three-year investigation led by Cleveland Police's Cyber Crime Unit.
'Over a two-year period, the tool is believed to have been used across 13 countries and over 28,000 times,' Detective Sergeant Kevin Carter, part of that cyber crime unit said. In total, it is suspected that accounts worth $10 million (£7.5 million) have been compromised by the resulting 2FA attacks. 'Users of the JokerOTP bot platform can rest assured that law enforcement has been watching and will be in touch,' Carter warned.
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