ShinyHunters says suspect arrested for Odido attack not affiliated with hacker group

The suspect arrested in connection with a major hack targeting the telecom company Odido is not affiliated with ShinyHunters, the hacker collective told BNR. The police reported on Monday that a 24-year-old man from Amsterdam had been arrested, but said little else.

Sources told RTL Nieuws that the man in custody is Pepijn van der S. The court sentenced the man to four years in prison in 2023 for hacking and extorting companies. He was released from prison early this year.

“That person has nothing to do with us,” ShinyHunters told BNR in response to reports of the arrest.

The hacker collective claimed responsibility for the attack on Odido in February, in which the personal data of some 6.2 million Dutch people was stolen. Odido refused to pay the ransom demanded by the hackers, and they eventually published all the stolen data on the dark web.

According to the police, the hackers gained access to Odido’s systems by calling the telecom company’s help center, posing as an Odido IT worker, and convincing a call center worker to provide their login information.

When the police played the recording of that call on television, asking for help identifying the Dutch-speaking hacker, ShinyHunters told BNR that they have lawyers ready to represent their hacker.