French computer hacker, Sebastien Raoult, was sentenced in the United States on Tuesday for his involvement in the ShinyHunters hacking group, which orchestrated the theft and sale of personal and financial data from millions of individuals on the dark web.
Raoult, aged 22, played a key role in the criminal gang by creating deceptive login pages to extract sensitive information from unsuspecting users.
The hacker’s actions caused extensive financial losses to victim companies and immeasurable harm to hundreds of millions of individuals, as their compromised data was sold to other criminals.
Sarah Vogel from the US District Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Washington state highlighted Raoult’s motive as “pure greed,” emphasizing his sale of hacked data, theft of cryptocurrency, and even the sale of hacking tools to further profit while enabling additional attacks by other hackers.
Arrested in Morocco in May 2022, Raoult was later extradited to the United States after eight months. Initially denying all charges, he eventually pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
During his appearance in the US District Court in Seattle, Raoult expressed remorse for his actions, acknowledging the severity of his crimes. “I understand my mistakes, and I want to put that part behind me.
No more hacking. I don’t want to disappoint my family again,” he stated, as reported by the US District Attorney’s Office. The case underscores the pervasive threat posed by hacking groups targeting personal data for financial gain, leading to increased cybersecurity concerns and law enforcement efforts globally.
