A super-hacker was caught after making an unexpected Facebook mistake. According to Forbes' latest report, "VandaTheGod', the person behind a 7-year hacktivism campaign, was caught. Cybersecurity company Check Point Research published the investigation on May 28, providing the details of how he was exposed.
The infamous super-hacker was responsible for the theft of 1 million private data after attacking 5,000 websites and stealing credit card information. The UGNAzi-affiliated hacker pushed an anti-establishment message despite the theft accusations he got.
Although the hacker claimed to focus on social injustices and pushed anti-government sentiments by attacking dozens of government websites, VandaTheGod was accused of benefiting financially from the act since he also stole private medical records from 1 million citizens in New Zealand.
4,800 scalps of VandaTheGod were mostly governmental and in the United States, but he also attacked academic institutions and private companies in more than 40 countries. The tally of his scalps was shown on his Twitter account that has been inactive since November.
"We started the entire research process after we received a request from one government to assist with finding his real identity," said Lotem Finkelsteen, an author of Check Point Research.
"The more he expanded his activities, the more we could see him developing new capabilities and showing interest in new hacking fields. He was obviously pleased with the skills he acquired and made sure to boast about his dubious achievements on Twitter, Facebook, and any other platform," Finkelsteen further explained in the report.
Super-Hacker who stole 1 million private data caught after making 1 Facebook mistake; 5,000 websites breached by "VandaTheGod"
According to Forbes, the super-hacker was caught because of a simple mistake. It was a failure that compromised his own security. VandaTheGod took a screenshot of a hacked email account and shared it on Facebook, not knowing that it would lead to his exposure.
"The screenshot also shows an open Facebook tab with the name 'Vanda De Assis', and looking that name up led us to a profile belonging to the attacker," Check Point explained.
Check Point looked for further clues by comparing various Twitter and Facebook accounts, and by also pulling out different threads. Another screenshot was eventually found with a set of initials left unmasked. The team pulled all Facebook profiles that matched by linking the initials to the Brazilian city of Uberlandia.
"We were able to locate a single account, which contained an uploaded image endorsing the Brazilian Cyber Army," the team confirmed.
The acquired account was connected by the team to one of the known VandaTheGod's accounts. Several cross-points between Vanda de Assis's Facebook account and the newly discovered profile were located.
The team was able to acquire the proof they needed. VandaTheGod was exposed after Check Point discovered that the photos of the same surroundings from different angles, specifically, the poster's living room were posted on Vanda De Assis's Facebook Account and the super-hacker's Twitter Account.
