Operation in 11 provinces: Hackers get hold of and sell information of 85 million people

20 Suspects were detained in the operation called ‘Kalkan’, which was organized against hackers in 11 provinces based in DIYARBAKIR. It was stated that hackers targeting companies and senior public officials had got hold the information of 85 million people with fake emails they sent and sold them.

The Provincial Security Directorate’s Cybercrime Fighting teams took action after a notification that there were data breaches in the company’s systems. The police who conducted the study identified 20 people with pseudonyms in contact with each other in the virtual environment. The police, who determined the identities, launched an operation in 11 provinces. 20 Suspects were arrested in simultaneous raids. Teams seized a large number of mobile phones, computers and digital materials at the designated addresses.

The police determined that the suspects were specifically targeting senior public officials with broad powers. It was found that the passwords of the people who clicked on the fake emails sent by the suspects were compromised. Thanks to these passwords, it was determined that the identity, address, credit card information of 85 million people was seized and this information was sold to fraudsters. It was determined that the suspects also set up a virtual platform and became a member with reference to the platform in question. It was also found that the suspects told each other what to do to avoid being caught by the cyber police through the platform they set up.