Dutch police arrest ShinyHunters suspect linked to murder plots
Original: Dutch police arrest ShinyHunters hacker accused of planning two murders
Why This Matters
ShinyHunters is linked to some of the largest data breaches in recent years, affecting hundreds of millions of users globally.
Dutch police and the FBI announced the September 15 arrest of a 24-year-old Amsterdam man suspected of being a leader of ShinyHunters, a hacking group accused of breaching 140+ organizations including Ticketmaster and AT&T. Devices seized at arrest allegedly contained plans for two murders abroad.
The FBI and Dutch High Tech Crime Unit arrested an unnamed 24-year-old Amsterdam man on September 15, accusing him of being one of the alleged leaders of ShinyHunters — a cybercriminal gang tied to data breaches at Ticketmaster, AT&T, Pornhub, and Dutch telecom Odido. The man, widely identified by media as Pepijn van der Stap, was arrested during a raid at Neo Security's offices, where he serves as CTO. Reports indicate the raid involved flash-bang grenades. He appeared in court Tuesday and has been remanded for at least 90 days.
FBI cyber division lead Brett Leathermann praised the Dutch response, saying authorities 'moved quickly to protect victims and preserve critical evidence,' and pledged to pursue remaining members. Dutch police said investigators found information on his laptop about 'two murders that should be committed abroad,' triggering a separate homicide conspiracy investigation distinct from the ShinyHunters case.
A Bloomberg profile from 2024 had described Van der Stap as both a cybersecurity researcher and criminal hacker who extorted companies. Security journalist Brian Krebs first reported the arrest. A ShinyHunters representative told TechCrunch that Van der Stap 'has no association with us.' Neo Security did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment.