LOS ANGELES: A computer hacker who was part of a criminal gang that stole data from hundreds of millions of people and sold it on the dark web was jailed in the United States on Jan 9.

       Frenchman Sebastien Raoult created fake login pages as part of the ShinyHunters hacking group, which were used to raid the personal and financial information of unsuspecting users.

       “For over two years, Mr Raoult participated in extensive computer hacking that caused millions of dollars in losses to victim companies and unmeasurable additional losses to hundreds of millions of individuals whose data was sold to other criminals,” said Sarah Vogel of the US District Attorney's Office in the Western District of Washington state.

       “Mr Raoult’s motive was pure greed. He sold hacked data. He stole people’s cryptocurrency. He even sold his hacking tools so that he could profit while other hackers attacked additional victims.”

       Raoult, 22, was arrested in Morocco in May 2022 and extradited to the United States eight months later.

       He initially denied all charges, but later agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

       Appearing in the US District Court in Seattle on Tuesday, Raoult acknowledged the gravity of his crimes.

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       “I understand my mistakes and I want to put that part behind me,” he said, according to the US District Attorney’s Office.

       “No more hacking. I don’t want to disappoint my family again.”

       Raoult was sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay more than US$5mil (RM23.20mil) in restitution. – AFP