Trio arrested for alleged involvement in major data breach

A trio, consisting of an insurance broker, a programmer, and a Facebook page administrator, has been apprehended for their alleged involvement in a significant data breach operation. They stand accused of compromising and subsequently selling the personal data of over 15 million individuals to illicit businesses.

Acting Deputy National Police Chief, Police Lieutenant General Thana Chuwong, shared these developments in a press briefing yesterday. He revealed that the current investigation had expanded in scope following the previous arrest of an engineer based in Phuket. The engineer is accused of trading the personal information of an estimated two million people to unauthorized entities.

Upon interrogation, the engineer divulged that he procured the data from an intermediary, who purportedly had access to the personal details of approximately 15 million individuals. The middleman is suspected to have connections with parties involved in the data theft.

The ongoing investigation subsequently led the police to the arrest of the three individuals, whose identities have been partially concealed. Among the arrested is 41 year old Pasin (surname withheld), an insurance broker suspected of pilfering the data of millions of customers. The other two are 28 year old Nattapong, a programmer credited with the creation of the API Bypass Face Scan, and 24 year old Yodchai, the administrator of a Facebook page known for selling personal data sourced from online gambling sites databases, reported Bangkok Post.

Nattapong provided the police with insights into the hacking mechanism, which was facilitated by specially developed software. This program enabled the execution of financial transactions via a browser system, circumventing the need for a mobile banking application, provided the hacker possessed the victim’s bank account details. This approach allowed for the transfer of substantial amounts of money to accounts controlled by the hacker via a browser system.

Another software was developed to sidestep the face scanning requirement for transactions exceeding 50,000 baht. The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau is currently working on deciphering this method of theft. All three arrested men face charges of violating computer and personal data protection laws.

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