12-28-2024, 08:33 PM
Brazilian citizen, Junior Barros De Oliveira, 29, from Curitiba, has been charged in the U.S. with data extortion. He allegedly hacked into a Brazilian subsidiary of a New Jersey-based company in March 2020, stealing confidential data from 300,000 customers.
In September 2020, De Oliveira demanded 300 bitcoin (about $3.2 million) from the company's CEO to prevent the sale of the data. He later offered "consulting services" for 75 bitcoin ($800,000) to fix the breach.
Each of the four counts of extortionate threats carries a maximum prison term of five years, while the four counts of threatening communications carry up to two years each. Fines of up to $250,000 or double the financial gain or loss also apply.