An anonymous leaker is exposing the identities of the world’s most wanted cybercriminals.
Recently, a mysterious leaker exposed leaders behind Trickbot and Conti ransomware, hacking groups that are known for some of the biggest extortions in recent times.
Recently, The Register contacted an anonymous individual known by the alias GangExposed, who is on a personal mission to “fight against an organized society of criminals known worldwide”. GangExposed takes pleasure in thinking he can rid society of at least some of the cybercriminals. "I simply enjoy solving the most complex cases,” he said.
Stern doxxed
One of the criminals doxxed is Stern, the mastermind of Conti ransomware operations and TrickBot. GangExposed claims Stern is Vitaly Nikolaevich, CySecurity reported about this case recently.
After the doxxing of Stern, GangExposed went after another important criminal, AKA professor, who is a 39-year-old Russian called Vladimir Viktorovich Kvitko. He is living in Dubai. Apart from exposing important individuals, GangExposed also leaked videos, ransom negotiations, and chat logs.
About GangExposed
The leaker said it was not an “IT guy,” it just observed patterns that other people missed.
"My toolkit includes classical intelligence analysis, logic, factual research, OSINT methodology, stylometry (I am a linguist and philologist), human psychology, and the ability to piece together puzzles that others don't even notice," the leaker said.
"I am a cosmopolitan with many homes but no permanent base — I move between countries as needed. My privacy standards are often stricter than most of my investigations' subjects."
Leaked bought info to expose IDs
To expose the IDs of infamous threat actors, GangExposed used information received via “semi-closed databases, darknet services,” and through purchases. It has “access to the leaked FSB border control database.” GangExposed claims it purchased the database from the dark web for $250,000.
GangExposed could have gotten at least $10 million in bounty from the FBI if it wanted to, but it has decided not to demand money. This suggests the leakers may be resentful of former members looking for revenge, while some experts think taking the bounty would make them criminal as well.
CySecurity had earlier reported on this incident, you can read the full story about the international crackdown on cybercrime gangs here.