The Ukrainian Security Service (SSU) said it had arrested five people suspected of being involved in the international hacking group Phoenix. The group that carried out the phishing attack used a fake support website posing as an Apple website. Phoenix specializes in taking over remote control of mobile devices through phishing attacks.
The SSU noted that the suspects lived in Kyiv in northern Ukraine and in Kharkiv in the east. The service said five of the suspects had engineering degrees. During the arrests, the police also confiscated a large amount of computer equipment, including cell phones, computers, and equipment used by the group.
The phishing operations had been going on for at least two years and allowed hackers to successfully log into the accounts of several hundred people. Phoenix also offered remote cell phone hacking services to individuals. Services were billed between $ 100 and $ 200. Finally, hackers unlocked phones that were found or stolen. Once unlocked, the group resold the devices.
The SSU believes that the five people arrested in connection with this investigation constitute the entire Phoenix group. However, the investigation will continue to determine if other people were also involved. Phoenix will now face charges of violating computer systems and networks in the Ukrainian courts.